


Cinderella

by Lila11



Series: Too Many Clocks, Too Little Time [1]
Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: A Little Bit of Humor, A little bit of angst, A little bit of everything, A little bit of fluff, F/F, There are missing socks, a little bit of fake dating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:34:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 94,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24278929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lila11/pseuds/Lila11
Summary: Nayeon is your not-so-average college student who likes to drink on the weekends, believes that she knows what she's really doing and loves her friends more that anything in the world.What happens when she meets a seemingly average Japanese girl who turns out to be a member of South Korea's hottest new girl group?
Relationships: Im Nayeon/Myoui Mina
Series: Too Many Clocks, Too Little Time [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1933840
Comments: 874
Kudos: 912





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I got a little sad writing the updates for IWBTSA so I decided to push through with this idea :)  
> Also, Notting Hill was on tv, lols.  
> I hope you'll enjoy reading this au too.  
> It's still unbeta-ed so forgive me for any errors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go.

Nayeon walks out of the terminal pulling her luggage and looks for a café where she could get something to eat. She slept through the entire flight and that meant missing the in-flight food that was served and now she’s really hungry. She settles for the first airport restaurant she finds that offers breakfast.

It’s 5:30 in the morning and she badly needs coffee.

She drops her huge carry on backpack on the floor as she gets herself settled in one of the corner booth after getting her orders taken at the counter. She fished out her phone from her pocket and read the last message her best friend sent her.

**Korean Bruh**

I totally forgot to set my alarm.

I’ll be there in an hour.

**LA Girl**

Works for me

Nayeon also sent a text message to her brother ‘ _I arrived safely. Ready to take over Korea again. Love you.’_

She puts her phone down on the table as soon as her breakfast arrives. She spent the next hour reviewing her school schedule. She’s reading a brochure from the university and getting herself familiarized with the campus map. 

Nayeon looks at another brochure which showcases the features and amenities her apartment building offers. She can’t wait to see the place and get settled in. She was studying the map of the city when she noticed someone sliding on the seat in front of her in the booth. 

“I’m so sorry.” Dahyun slurred. “I knew I shouldn’t have gone to that party last night.” 

Nayeon looks up and studies her friend’s face. Her eyes are still swollen from just waking up, she wonders how she was able to drive to the airport and survive. 

“I can always get a taxi instead.” Nayeon said. “Did you at least get laid last night?” 

“A little bit, yeah.” 

“Attagirl, but you’re barely awake. You can’t even open your eyes properly. How did you even manage to drive here?” 

“About that –“ 

Dahyun was cut off by a loud squeal a few feet away from them. Nayeon looks up as the sleepy girl drops her head on the table. 

A girl in Burberry trench coat strides to where they are and slides into their booth, pushing Dahyun for some space. The girl sits across Nayeon, rests her chin on her hands and showed her evil smile Nayeon’s is all too familiar with. 

“So, welcome back to Korea. How was your flight?” Sana asked.

“It was long and boring.” 

“Were you seated next to an obnoxious old man?” Sana coos. 

“Worse. It was an old lady who was very respectful of my space.” Nayeon feigned annoyance. “She didn’t even snore in her sleep.” 

“Aww you poor thing.” Sana plays along. “Are you ready for Junior year?” 

“Yeah, I’m excited for it.” 

“You better be. Sophomore year sucked without you. Dubu here was a mess.” Sana pokes Dahyun’s head. “She goes to her classes in her checkered pajamas. But since I’m such a great person, I’ve kept her company.” 

“Right.” Nayeon nods. “Wait, I thought you’re still in Singapore.” 

“Well, I decided to go home earlier.” Sana answers, still poking Dahyun’s head. 

“Okay, I’m a little confused.” Nayeon frowns. “She’s pretty hung over and you’re here together…” She points at her two friends. “Are you two...” 

Dahyun finally looks up. She and Sana look at each other, equally confused. 

Nayeon continues to use her hands to convey a question her mouth just wouldn’t say out loud until Dahyun gasps in shock. She seems offended with what Nayeon is insinuating. 

“Oh my god! No.” Dahyun almost screamed, disgusted. “Nabong! No!” 

Sana still looks confused and faced Dahyun who had slumped back on the table. “What is it?” 

“She thinks we slept together.” Dahyun mumbled. 

“What?!” Now it’s Sana’s turn to feel disgusted. “No offense, but eww.” 

“None taken.” Dahyun waves if off. 

“I mean, I’ve known you since diaper days and I’ve seen you with snots running down your nose all the time chasing girls when we were in kindergarten.” Sana continued. “That’s how I’m always going to see you.” 

“Okay now, I’m offended.” Dahyun’s offended. 

Sana pushes Dahyun lightly while Nayeon just laughs at the childhood friends interactions in front of her. 

“Whatever. You know it’s true. And with Nayeon being back, you stand no chance of getting any girls now.” 

“Well, you still have no chance with her too.” 

Sana grins. “We’ll see.” 

Nayeon chuckles. She knows Sana used to like her, even asked her out on a date when they we’re younger. But they both realized it was a bad idea. Sana became one of her real friends in Korea, along with Dahyun. Together, the three of them developed a bond that’s more than just friendship. 

But that doesn’t stop Sana from teasing Nayeon at every opportunity she gets. 

“Anyway, I’m your ride.” Sana smiled. “I know you’re arriving today and obviously, she’s in no condition to drive.” 

“That’s an understatement.” Nayeon nods at Dahyun. “She’s in no condition to even walk.” 

“Hey! At least I showed up.” 

“And you know I really appreciate that.” Nayeon reaches over to pinch Dahyun’s nose. 

And since the younger Korean is so hung over she lazily pushes her hand away. 

“So, let’s go before we get stuck in the morning traffic.” Sana claps her hands together. “Dubu, make yourself useful by getting her luggage.” 

Sana stands up and pulls Nayeon up from her seat. Dahyun lazily stands up from her seat and groans when she realised just how heavy Nayeon’s backpack is after putting it on. She sighs one more time before pulling the large luggage and follows her two friends out of the airport. 

***

They arrive at the apartment Nayeon will be living in during her stay in Korea. The place looks so clean with large windows overlooking the district city of Seoul, two bedrooms; one on the ground floor and another on the loft, a full kitchen, dining area, state-of-the-art entertainment set up and the best view of city. 

Nayeon and Dahyun drop themselves on the couch while Sana looks around the unit. It was beautifully designed. 

“Your brother really spoils you.” Sana’s in awe. 

“Oh, this is nothing.” Dahyun said. “You should’ve seen how he treats her when I lived with them in LA. She was his princess.” 

“I am still his princess.” Nayeon protested. 

“Must be nice to have a celebrity brother.” The Japanese said, still admiring the apartment designs. 

Nayeon frowns at Sana. “He’s not a celebrity.” 

“In the business world he is.” Sana pointed out. “Hey, maybe now you can ask him to give a talk at the university since he’s clearly going to give you anything you ask him.” 

“And what makes you think Nayeon will ask him to do that? That’s not even her major.” 

“Because I’m her bestfriend.” Sana said proudly. 

“Excuse me?” Dahyun counters. “ _I’m_ her bestfriend.” 

Nayeon definitely missed this kind of banter with her two best friends. When she decided to study in Korea, Dahyun and Sana took the responsibility of looking after her. Especially Dahyun. 

She had become a real sister ever since they first met in high school. Dahyun was in the exchange student program in Nayeon’s exclusive high school in California and the Ims were her foster US family. Nayeon really liked Dahyun that she had forced her parents to have her stay with them for the entire duration of the exchange student program. 

Nayeon and Dahyun got into trouble all the time. She was the very first person who found out about Nayeon’s preferences and they became each other’s wingman, err, wingwoman. 

Dahyun was basically an Im and she was there to console Nayeon after her parent’s untimely demise. They were coming home from another high school party when Nayeon received that call about her parent’s accident. She was there to drive Nayeon home when she blacked out at after drinking for almost six hours straight. 

Nayeon loves Dahyun like she’s her own flesh and blood. She might even love her more than she loves her biological brother. And she knows the little Korean girl feels the same. 

“As much as I miss watching you two kill each other, I need to go to the university. Get my schedule and stuff.” Nayeon nudges Dahyun. “You can stay here if you want, I have a spare room.” 

“I’ll take that offer. I need to sleep this hang over away.” 

“You can also start unpacking my things if you want.” 

Dahyun covers her face with the throw pillows. “I can’t hear you. I’m too hung over.” 

“I can drive you to uni.” Sana offers. ”Maybe I should get my schedules too.” 

Nayeon shrugs. “Works for me.”

***

There’s a loud cheering inside a large dance studio when the choreographer announced that they are done for the day. Five bodies lie perfectly still on the floor, exhausted from dancing for over eight hours now. A pink haired girl is the first to stand up and looks at her members. 

“Who wants to have dinner with us tonight?” Jihyo asks. ”We're going to Jeong’s.” 

“Dad’s cooking.” Jeongyeon, purple hair member started rolling around the floor excitedly. 

“Me!” A short hair girl with dimples raised her legs up. ”I miss your mom too, unnie. Is she going to be there? Last time we went to your restaurant she was in Busan.” 

“Yeah.” Jihyo answered. ”How about you two? Mitzu?” 

The youngest member shakes her head. “I need to call my mom tonight before they leave for Paris, unnie.” 

“Oh, that’s tonight?” Jeongyeon stretched on the floor. “Please greet your parents Happy Anniversary for me.” 

Tzuyu smiles. “Thank you, Jeongyeon unnie. I’ll let them know.” 

Jeongyeon crawls closer to the Japanese ballerina and the two girls start to help each other out with a post rehearsals stretching. 

Jihyo walks over to them. “Mina-ya? Don’t tell me you’re going to hide in your room again to play video games all night.”

“I don’t hide.” Mina said while pulling the older Korean’s arms. “And yes, I just purchased a new game and I’m excited to start playing. That’s my _me time_.” 

“Come on, Mina-chan.” Jeongyeon groans. “Have dinner with us tonight and we won’t bother you again for the rest of the month.” 

Mina looks at Jeongyeon and Jihyo’s faces. She really wanted to start this new game she had read many reviews on but she does miss spending time with her members. With a defeated sigh, she nods. Jihyo celebrates and hugs her, Jeongyeon follows. 

“Okay.” Mina pushes her friends away. “Hug time over. We’re all so sticky.”

***

Twice is one of the biggest names in KPop right now. They debuted a little over a year ago but they have quickly become South Korea’s most in demand girl group. With two comebacks under their belt, there’s no sign of them slowing down. 

The girls had just returned to their dorms after dinner. Members have already gone to their own rooms doing their nightly routine. They have a free day tomorrow so most of them would probably stay up all night, catching up on dramas like Jihyo. 

Or watching hundreds of cooking videos like Jeongyeon. 

Or finishing an art project like Chaeyoung. 

Or even checking out new dog accessories online like Tzuyu. 

Or sneaking out of the dorm like Mina. 

Yes. Mina had started playing on her Nintendo Switch, but she got bored at how easily she figured out how the game works. There’s no more thrill. So, she decided to do her second favorite activity. Evening strolls. 

She sometimes even goes to cafés and less crowded pubs to unwind. She enjoys watching normal people enjoy normal evenings. Sometimes, she even interacts with some. She’s a brave little sushi. 

She moved to Korea when she was just fifteen to start her idol training and certainly knew her way around Seoul. Even in the dead of night. 

Mina feels a buzzing on her pocket and fished out her phone. She sees a message from Jihyo. 

**Jigglypuff**

I know you sneaked out again.

Come home safely okay.

**Minguin**

Okay, Mom. Goodnight.

Mina chuckles as she slips her phone back in her pocket.

***

Nayeon, Sana and Dahyun are standing by the bar of a pub near Nayeon’s apartment complex. It’s not a surprise that Dahyun found this place. What the surprise was Dahyun chugging down a pint of beer after a round of tequila shots. 

She was just getting over a hangover before deciding to take Nayeon out for welcome back drinks. Sana decided to tag along since she knows someone has to be the designated driver tonight. 

Nayeon watched Dahyun wipe the alcohol dripping down her chin. “Since when did you develop this high tolerance for alcohol?” 

“Since you left me all alone.” Dahyun, catching her breath. “I have to deal with Sana by myself. Do you know how stressful that was?” 

Sana smacks Dahyun on the arm causing her to spill her drinks on the bar. “Hey. I was your _best_ bestfriend while we waited for Nayeon to return. If it wasn’t for me, you would’ve been dead by now or worse, you could be stuck in jail for DUI. Now, say thank you.” 

“There’s something wrong with that analogy, Sana.” Nayeon laughs. “Are you sure this is not alcoholic?” 

Nayeon grab’s their designated driver’s iced tea and sniff it, making sure it’s not spiked. It’s been a while since Nayeon had this much fun drinking. Sure she went out for drinks with some friends back in Los Angeles. But nothing ever compares to this feeling of being in the company of these two adorable dorks. 

“I really missed you. And I’m sorry I wasn’t here for sophomore year.” 

“Yeah, it wasn’t the same without you.” Sana pouts. “But your brother needed you and family comes first.” 

“Well, you both know he actually told me to go, but I didn’t want to leave him alone.”

“Aww, you’re so sweet, Nayeonnie.” The Japanese openly flirts with Nayeon who just smiles at her. She was about to say something else when a girl bumps into the Korean’s back. 

Nayeon turned around to say something annoying but she was met with the most enchanting eyes she’s ever seen. The eyes were confident but there’s a bit of fear in them. The girl was wearing hoodie and was already holding a tall glass of drink. By the looks of it, it looks like a mixed cocktail. 

Nayeon’s eyes traveled back to the hooded girl in front of her. She has the most beautiful eyes. Her eyes are so expressive and Nayeon’s already tipsy to read what the expressions were.

The girl bowed and said a quick sorry before walking away. 

Nayeon was debating whether to follow the girl or not. But then Dahyun kind of started screaming at Sana. 

“You want to make a bet that Nayeon’s going to get laid tonight?!” Dahyun grins. 

Sana had to cover her left ear with her free hand and lightly pushed Dahyun away. “Hey, don’t scream. We’re like two feet away from you. And that’s not going to happen tonight. Nayeon just got back. She probably still has jet lag or something.” 

“When did that ever stop her? Remember the first night of freshman year two years ago. You know…”

Dahyun is clearly intoxicated with the weird way she’s wiggling her eyebrows and points to Sana and Nayeon. She only ever reminds them of what happened that night when she’s drunk enough to bare the idea of her bestfriends sleeping together. 

Sana’s taken aback. “Are you saying we should sleep together? Again?! What’s wrong with you?” 

“No! I didn’t mean with you.” Dahyun waves her hands. “I mean with other girls.” 

“Why? What’s wrong with me?” Sana frowns. 

Nayeon laughs, puts her arms around her friends and hugs them close. 

She kissed her bestfriends on their temples before walking away, leaving them to argue with each other again. She makes her way to the bathroom, following the toilet sign. Upon turning the corner, she noticed a girl who’s drinking by the exit door and recognized her as the hoodie girl from the bar. 

Nayeon thinks of joining the girl but she really did need to go to the toilet so she makes herself a deal – if hoodie girl would still be there after she gets out of the toilet then that’s the sign. 

She takes her time in the toilet – washed her hands and face for good measures. 

***

Nayeon was expecting the hoodie bar girl to be gone by the time she got out of the toilet so she was a little surprised to see her still finishing her drink by door. She checked her out from behind. Ripped jeans, black hoodie and the latest release of Air Jordans. Girl knows her shoes.

To be honest, Nayeon is not really sure if this is the same girl from the bar but she’s already two steps away from the girl and it’s too late to back out now. She finds herself leaning on the other side of the exit door. 

“I’d say you’re a slow drinker if that’s the same glass from the bar half an hour ago.” Nayeon’s favorite pick up line. 

The girl looks at her and Nayeon had to mentally pat herself on the back. She was right. Exit door girl is hoodie bar girl. She has got to stop giving random nicknames to girls. 

Mina looks at this stranger who’s openly checking her out. She can feel confidence radiate from this drunk girl. And judging by her English pick up line, she’s clearly not from around. 

“I don’t speak good English.” Mina said in perfect English. 

“That’s okay. I'm not very good in Korean.” Nayeon answers in basic Hangul. 

Though her entire family’s Korean, Nayeon grew up in Los Angeles. Her parents would still talk to her and her brother in Hangul when they were growing up, but being surrounded by non-Korean kids made it hard for her to become fluent in the language. 

“Do you also go to Seoul U?” Nayeon smiles, reverting back to speaking in Hangul. 

That explains it, Mina thought. This girl is in college, probably under some English courses at university. She knows this because Chaeyoung and Tzuyu have looked at the university’s performing arts courses and she read the brochures they brought back to the dorm. 

Mina shakes her head. “No. No, I don’t.” 

“Ah, that’s why you don’t look familiar.” 

Mina raised her eyebrow. “Do you know everyone that goes to your school?” 

“Maybe.” 

This college girl is way too confident for Mina but she admits that she’s pretty. Even with the smug look she’s giving Mina, the girl’s flustered cheeks and glow from her piercing brown eyes fit perfectly with the dimly lit back door exit. How Mina knew this college girl’s eyes were brown, she has no clue. 

Nayeon nods at the almost empty glass hoodie bar girl’s holding. “You want me to get you another drink?” 

“No, I'm fine.” 

Nayeon gives hoodie bar girl another look before stepping closer. She slides her right hand behind her and loosely holds the other girl’s waist and leans in to whisper. “You want to get out of here?” 

Mina can feel hot breaths on her ear. She feels their cheeks lightly touching and that sends goosebumps all over her body. This college girl’s scent, a mixture of alcohol and Chanel No.5, only adds more fuel to the fire that’s starting to build up inside her. 

Nayeon pulls her head back but keeps her close proximity to the girl’s face. She looks at her eyes and notices how much darker they became. She’s been in this situation many times in past. She certainly knows her away around one night stands and random hook ups. 

“Okay.” Hoodie bar girl said.

Mina is certainly not a stranger to this as well. And she’s always made sure it would be with someone who wouldn’t recognize her. Foreign girls are always the safer choice. She’s done this in the past. Not that many times though, but Jihyo would always say that more than once is too much.

***

There’s a loud bang after Nayeon kicked the door of her apartment shut. She was too busy removing hoodie bar girl’s top to even bother closing the damn door properly. She doesn’t care. All she cares about now is the getting the release she desperately needs. 

Mina pushed the college girl on the wall and attacks her neck. She barely had any alcohol in her system but she’s never been this aggressive before. As soon as Mina removed the other’s top, her eyes traveled to the tattoo on the girl’s right collar bone. It looks like a squiggly line of letters but she’s not about to decipher it now. Though, she made sure to leave another mark on the girl’s collar bone while she helps unbutton her jeans. 

Nayeon lets out a moan when she felt teeth on her skin. There will be bruises for sure, not that she likes having them on her but she’s too worked up to even stop this girl. She pulls the other girl’s head up. Cupping her cheeks with both hands, Nayeon had finally got a clear look of the girl. Long black hair’s a little disheveled, cheeks are a bright shade of red, mole on the bridge of her nose, lips are swollen and moist and her half lidded eyes are burning. 

“Wow. You’re so beautiful.” Nayeon breathed out. 

Mina did not expect that. She did not expect to be looked at with such wonder and admiration. She feels a little tug at her chest and before her thoughts wonder off somewhere else, she goes in and captures the other girl’s lips again. 

Nayeon pulls back a few moments later. 

“Upstairs.” Nayeon pulls hoodie bar girl up to her bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading the chapter :) Feel free to leave comments, I really love reading them.  
> PS. Im no good with like love scenes so there won't be any here or even on the next chapters.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the update :)

Nayeon wakes up to a bright morning. She feels a light head ache as she opens her eyes. Then she remembers what happened last night, she quickly looks to the other side of the bed. It’s empty. She reaches out to run her hands on the empty space. It’s already cold. 

_Of course._

She didn’t expect for hoodie bar girl to stay, though she kind of wished she did. She didn’t even get her name. Not that she would get in touch or something. It’s just polite to ask for the name of a person she had shared an incredible night with. 

Nayeon lets out a heavy sigh as she gets comfortable on her bed again. She tries to relieve everything that happened last night. Beautiful hoodie bar girl’s soft moans and delicate hands. The way she bit on Nayeon’s shoulders when she reached her climax. The marks on her body are proof that hoodie bar girl enjoyed last night as much as Nayeon did. 

She was still reminiscing when she hears a click from downstairs followed by footsteps. 

_Is she still here?_ Nayeon wonders. 

She quickly got up and pulled an oversized shirt from her open luggage. She hadn’t properly unpacked yet and she made a mental note to get that done before school starts. She puts on a pair of PJs before running down the stairs. 

Her excitement quickly turned into a frown when she finds Dahyun in the kitchen, making coffee. 

“Aren’t you glad you gave me a spare key so I can make us coffee after a night of drinking?” Dahyun said with a smug look on her face. 

Nayeon was a little disappointed but she smiles at her bestfriend and joins her. 

“Right.” She takes her seat at the dining table while she waits for Dahyun to hand her a cup of fresh coffee. 

They sat in silent for a little while, playing with the fruits on the table, until Nayeon noticed Dahyun was staring at something. She follows her line of sight and finds her looking at a j pair of jeans, top and other pieces of clothing that were on the living room floor. 

Dahyun’s trying to hide the silly grin on her face. “So, I guess Sana owes me $10, huh?” 

“I can’t believe you two are betting on my sex life.” Nayeon rubs her temples. ”And for $10? Really?! Am I really that cheap?” 

“No, you’re not. But you sleep around a lot. Our college funds may run out before we even finish college.” 

“Whatever.” 

Nayeon goes to stretch her neck to the side, making her oversized shirt fall off her right shoulders. Dahyun almost choked on her coffee when she saw the bite marks on Nayeon’s shoulders. 

“I see she’s a biter.” Dahyun coughed. 

“Among other things.” 

“How do you manage to always get the exciting ones? Please teach me your ways, Master.” 

Nayeon laughs and playfully throws a grape at Dahyun. 

Dahyun caught it and threw it back to her. “Did you get her name? Phone number?” 

“No, of course not. That kind of defeats the purpose of one night stands.” 

_That’s right,_ Nayeon thought. It’s not like she’s ever going to see that beautiful hoodie bar girl again. She’s been through a number of one night stands and she never crossed paths with any of them after. Well, except there’s Sana. But she’s a different story. 

There was time when Sana hinted on a possibility of them getting together but at the end, they just both decided to remain friends. Dahyun made them swear to never be the same kind of stupid drunk they were two years ago. 

Nayeon looked back at the clothes on the floor and noticed a sock she’s not familiar with – mostly because all her socks are either black or white. Two colors only. Dahyun used to tease her about it. Calling her a sock OCD and the fact the she had all the pairs embroidered with letters L and R on the soles didn’t really help her case. 

“Well, she did leave you one of her penguin socks.” Dahyun points to the green sock. “Now you have your own Cinderella.” 

Nayeon laughs as she picks up the green socks with little penguin designs. She finds it so adorable that a beautiful hoodie bar girl who was so hot in bed owns cute little penguin socks. 

***

Mina and Jihyo are having lunch with Jeongyeon at their dorm. All three of them were silently eating the meals Jeongyeon brought with her. Being the daughter of a celebrity chef, she always enjoys having her friends try out her father’s new recipes. 

Jihyo, on the other hand, can’t stop staring at the hickey on the side of Mina’s neck. 

Jeongyeon groans. “Jihyo, just ask her already instead of acting all creepy. Please.” 

“Can we just drop it?” Mina rolls her eyes. “It’s just a hickey. It’s not like you haven’t seen one before. It’s not a big deal.” 

“It’s kind of a big deal.” Jihyo counters. “Mina, you’ve never been this careless before.” 

“I already apologized this morning when you picked me up. Do you want me to apologize again?” Mina drops her chopsticks and pulls an aegyo for Jihyo. “I’m so sorry. I’m going to be extra careful next time.” 

Jihyo can’t resist Mina’s aegyo since it only comes out once in a blue moon. And Mina knew she’s won when Jihyo looks down shaking her head to hide her smile. Jeongyeon just chuckles. 

“We’re lucky nobody saw you with that. It’s quite huge.” Jihyo glanced at the very visible mark on Mina’s neck again. 

Jeongyeon nudges Jihyo. “You’re exaggerating.” Then she turns to the younger Japanese. “So, Mina-chan, where did you meet this sucker?” 

Mina had to laugh as Jihyo rolls her eyes. Leave it to Jeongyeon to crack a joke at every possible opportunity. 

“A small pub near Seoul U.” 

“Woah, look at you go.” The oldest member gives Mina pat on the pat. “A college student. Do you think she’s younger than you?” 

Mina thinks. “I guess we’re about the same age.” 

Mina’s sexuality had never been an issue with any Twice members. Their managers know about it too. Even their CEO and PD-nim is aware. They’re just not allowed to publicly admit to it especially since they do a lot of fan services. 

“Are you sure nobody recognized you?” Jihyo squints at her. 

Mina takes a mouthful of the beef stew. “I was in full on Assassin’s Creed last night. And she speaks basic Hangul.” _But she looks so much like a Korean._

“You really like the foreign ones, huh?” Jihyo points out while cutting a piece of the cheesecake. 

“Yeah, more chances of them not knowing who I am.” 

“Well, if you think about it, it kind of makes sense.” Jeongyeon sits up straight. “Mina’s Japanese, she was born in America and she’s in a Korean girl group. Do you see where I’m going with this?" 

Mina and Jihyo look at Jeongyeon, waiting for the older girl to continue. 

Jeongyeon gestures for the younger girls to get on with her train of thoughts, but they look confused so she gives up. “Come on, you two.” 

“Your brain works differently than ours, unnie.” Jihyo, still not getting it. 

Jeongyeon decides to elaborate. “Mina is basically a foreigner, so she’s more inclined to go out and meet foreigners too, non-Korean people.” 

“Well, Koreans are also foreigners to me.” 

“Exactly, so what’s your point, unnie?” The group leader turns to Jeongyeon. 

“Ah! Never mind. I’ll poison your food next time.” Jeongyeon said as she stabs the cheesecake Jihyo placed on her plate.

***

Nayeon had initially planned to go to the grocery store alone but Dahyun insisted on going with her. And since Dahyun’s car is still at the repair shop, the younger Korean decided to call Sana to be their wheels. 

“Is this really my only purpose in this friendship? To be your ‘ _wheels’_?” Sana whines. 

“My car’s still in the repair shop and Nabong here is never going to get a license, not unless she’s willing to give up her US one.” 

“I’m sorry, Sana-chan. Dubu’ll take care of gas today.” Nayeon fixes her turtle neck top. 

“Yeah, good thing I won the bet. That’s going to be our gas money.” 

“So I’m basically also paying for gas.” Sana huffs. “I really treasure this great friendship we share.” 

Dahyun offers her milk tea to Sana and Japanese girl gladly takes a sip from it. 

“I told her to not bother you today.” Nayeon said while checking out the ramen aisle. “I know you have Sunday lunch with family.” 

“Well, mom moved it to dinner instead. And you two are invited now that she knows Nabong’s back.” 

“Can I skip this dinner tonight?” Dahyun asked. 

“You can’t.” Sana bumps her hips to Dahyun’s. ”Your parents are also coming tonight.” 

“Ooh. I arrived just in time for the monthly Minatozaki and Kim family gathering. Please let me be the maid of honor in your wedding.” 

“You can even be my bride.” Sana wraps both arms around Nayeon. 

Nayeon returns the favor by leaning her head on the Japanese shoulders as they both giggle. The two would always playfully flirt with each other. It’s part of their dynamic. 

Dahyun lets out an exasperated groan pretending to throw up while pushing the shopping cart. “Please, not in front of my milk tea.” 

“Oh don’t fret, little Dubu. You’ll be my other bride.” Sana giggles some more. 

Dahyun was going to say something back when she hears the music playing on the supermarket speakers. “Oh, this is my jam!” 

Sana stops to listen to the song. “This is Twice, right? The _it_ girl group?” 

“Yes. And they’re not just a girl group. They are legends.” Dahyun gets so excited talking about KPop. “They just had their first anniversary after debut, but they’ve already won major awards at major awards shows.” 

“See, this is why you’re still single.” Sana pinches Dahyun’s cheeks. “You’re living the fangirl life.” 

“And it’s a fabulous life.” 

They finished grocery, got back to Nayeon’s apartment and are already on their way to the Minatozaki residence. 

Dinner was fun with the older Minatozakis and Kims relentlessly teasing Sana and Dahyun. The Kims own a Fish Market stand that supplies seafood to a few restaurants in their town, while the Minatozakis have a family restaurant that serves the produce from the Kims. 

Both of Nayeon’s friends are the sole heir to their respective family businesses. Their parents are also longtime friends so it’s only natural that they’d want to set up their kids together. 

The only problem is that the Minatozaki don’t know that Sana is a wild butterfly and the most carefree person in the world. And the Kims don’t know that Dahyun plans to travel and see the world before she’d ever be ready to take over the family business. 

Nayeon is still the lucky one to not have the responsibility of carrying the family name. She has her older brother for that. That reminds her she needs to call her brother when she gets back to her apartment. 

***

Nayeon’s sitting on her couch reading a manual for the heating system while she holds the remote in another hand. She’s changed into an oversized shirt and a pair of comfortable PJs, her favorite indoor outfit. 

She’s adjusting the heating system when she hears her brother through the video call. 

_“You still there?”_

Her laptop’s on sitting on the coffee table beside a cup of tea. “Yup. Yup, I’m here.” 

She fixes the camera angle so her brother can see her. It’s 11:15 PM Korea Standard Time so that means its 7:15 AM in Los Angeles. Her brother’s in his office preparing for his early meeting but he insisted that she calls to check in with him. 

Jinyoung had just finished signing a few documents and his secretary gathers them up before excusing herself. _“Any luck with that heating system?”_

“Nah, I give up.” Nayeon drops the user manual. “I’m just going to plug in the electric blanket. That should do the trick.” 

_“Hey, what did I tell you about sleeping with anything that needs to be plugged in?”_ Jinyoung raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t do it?” 

_“Exactly. We don’t want you burning the entire apartment on your first week there. Let me see the manual.”_

Nayeon shows her brother the heating systems manual and the remote and in a matter of ten minutes he managed to figure out what to do and gave Nayeon clear instructions. 

She sets the remote and manual down the coffee table and grabs her cup of tea. It’s a little cold now but it’ll do. She leans back into the couch and puts both her feet up on the table too. 

“See, Jinyoung, this is why you’re the brain of the family. And I’m the brawn.” 

_“I thought you were the beauty.”_

“Oh, that’s you too. With your pristine hand-stitched suit and perfectly coiffed hair. I don’t stand a chance against you.” 

_“Well, that’s true.”_ Jinyoung flips his imaginary bangs. _“Are you all set from college tomorrow?”_

“I am, mom. I have a few classes in the morning then I’m going to check out some textile shops at Gangnam in the afternoon.” 

_“Why?”_

“You know that summer pants I bought you when I came home last year? The ones you didn’t want to wear and turned into pillow cases? You said some of your clients liked the fabric.” 

Jinyoung laughs at the memory. _“Yes, they did.”_

“Well, I think I remember the shop where I got it from. It’s locally produced and 100% organic. Just like the abaca fabrics we got from the Philippines. You could strike a deal with the owners you know, import and stuff.” 

Nayeon sips her tea as she watched an amused look on her brother’s face. “What?” 

_“Is that the Im business tone I’m hearing from you, kiddo?”_ Jinyoung teased. 

“First of all, I’m not a kiddo anymore. We talked about that. And second, I just figured I’d help. You know, you bought me this awesome apartment it’s the least I can do.” 

_“Well, the apartment came out of your trust funds.”_

The Im siblings share a few moments of laughter. 

_“Thank you. I’m sure it would be a great investment.”_ Jinyoung smiled genuinely. 

Nayeon raises her cup of tea to Jinyoung and her brother raises his coffee cup. They have a deal. 

_“I see you’re already wreaking havoc over there. Those bruises look fresh.”_

Nayeon quickly pulls her shirt to cover her shoulder while Jinyoung laughs on the screen. “Yeah, you know it’s getting late and I have school tomorrow.” 

Jinyoung is not going to stop teasing her anytime soon. _“Don’t forget to always use protection.”_

“Yeah, yeah. Goodnight, Jinyoung. Good luck on your board meeting. Show them who’s the boss.” 

_“I plan to. Take care of yourself over there, okay. Love you, Nayeonnie.”_

“Love you.” 

Nayeon ends the call and turns her laptop off. She sighs before getting up to put her cup in the sink. 

First day of Junior year tomorrow. That should be exciting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave a comment, I enjoy reading them :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's still unbeta-ed but please enjoy :)

  
Twice members are in a photoshoot for a cosmetic company who just recently chose them as brand ambassadors. Every member had a unique style, so hair and makeup for one girl can take almost two hours to finish. Needless to say, members who are not yet getting dolled up are busy with their own thing. They’ve come up with various ways to amuse themselves in situations like this. 

Jihyo took up knitting after Mina influenced her. She agrees that it’s a welcome break from video gaming. Jeongyeon learned how to edit videos and she’s finishing a cooking vlog that will be posted on their group’s Twice TV page. The maknaes – Chaeyoung and Tzuyu – were the first to get their makeups and hairs done.

It’s always been in that order – youngest to eldest. 

“Mina-chan, can you help me transfer this video to my laptop when we get back to the dorm? I want to make sure the video quality won’t be affected.” 

Mina answers, without losing focus on her knitting. “Sure, unnie. I’ll teach how to do it too so you can transfer files anytime.” 

Jeongyeon makes a cooing sound while giving soft pats on Mina’s head. “How’s that scarf going, Jihyo-ya?” She calls out. “Are you still making two of those?” 

“Yes, but I’m thinking of making the third one in a different colors. I’m thinking golden yellow.” Jihyo looks up at her. “What do you think?” 

“It’s cool.” Jeongyeon shrugs. “Who’s that going to be for?” 

“Myself?” Jihyo points to herself. “But I ran out of thick threads.” 

“We can go to the store later after the shoot. I want to check out new colors too.” Mina said. “Want to come with us, unnie?” 

“Only if you promise to buy me ice cream so I won’t get bored while you two bond over threads.” 

“I promise that Jihyo will buy you the biggest scoop we can find.” 

A few moments later their head manager arrives and shares some details from the meeting he was just in. There are plans for a comeback to be released in 6 months. This would mean more time spent at the recording studio and dance rehearsals. He also tells them that they may be given a one-week vacation before preparations officially starts. 

This will be their third comeback and after the success of the first two, there were also talks about a possible Japan debut. This makes Mina extremely happy.

Finally. 

“Which leads me to the most important topic, the dating ban.” 

The girls look at each other. 

“We know that some of you have had relationships in the past and we can’t do anything about that. But what we can control is what’s happening right now and what will happen in the future. We’re not stopping you from seeing your friends. We’re not even going stop you from your evening runs or morning drives.” 

Jihyo subtly looks at Mina who’s hiding the guilt on her face. The other members also know about these adventures, but they all made a pact on the first day they moved into their dorm that they are going to be sisters first, girl group members second. They are a family. And a family looks after one another. 

Head Manager continues, “What we only ask is for you to be very attentive of your surroundings. More and more people are starting to recognize all of you. You can still do whatever you want to do on your days off work. I mean, you’re all adults now.” 

Jihyo cuts in. “Except Tzuyu.” 

“Yes, except Tzuyu. Just, please be very, very careful. Are we all clear?” 

All the members nod in understanding and the photoshoot resumes. 

After hundreds of camera clicks and several pounds of confetti, they are now bowing and saying thank you to everyone who worked with them today. Chaeyoung and Tzuyu were driven to school for their special exam schedules while Mina, Jihyo and Jeongyeon decided to take an afternoon stroll around Gangnam and look for that thick knitting thread Jihyo wanted.

***

Nayeon was looking through rolls of fabrics at the Gangnam store she was telling her brother about. She’s so proud of herself for finding the store again even after it changed its name. She was feeling a fabric when she hears Sana calls out. 

“Nayeonnie. Over here.” 

Nayeon walks over to where she heard Sana called out from and finds the girl standing in front of pastel colored fabric rolls. 

Sana looks at her and points to the fabric rolls in front of her. “These are what you’re looking for, right?” 

“Right. Thank goodness for your four eyes.” 

Sana hits Nayeon’s upper arms before adjusting her eye glasses. “Hey, I’m helping you make an important business deal today and I drove you here, so be nice to me.” 

“I am always nice to you, Sana unnie.” 

“Don’t call me that. We’re practically the same age.” 

“Your birthday’s the month before mine.” 

“I’m technically just six days older than you. What did we just say about being nice to me?” 

Nayeon hugs Sana and spins her around a little. 

Sana squirms her way out of the hug. “Let me go find the owner so we can get this over with. I’m starving.” 

Sana walks away leaving Nayeon alone to admire the way the fabric feels in her hand. 

The Korean girl had been selling this fabric idea to her brother since she got back from her first Korean trip a little over a year ago. The fabric will look really good on the new furniture concept their company is designing. She was rubbing the fabrics between her fingers when she hears the store doors open and voices follow. 

Nayeon kind of like the idea that they were the only customers this late afternoon. But of course she couldn’t stop other people from coming in. The stores façade was not really that inviting, but to those who appreciate the beauty of textile, threads and sequins, this store is heaven. She tries to ignore the girly giggles she can hear from the newcomers and returns her focus on what’s in front of her.

***

Sana is talking to the old lady at the counter who seems to be the owner of the store, telling her that Nayeon is from an American company who would like to speak with them about their fabrics. 

The store owner tells Sana to wait and that she’ll get her son to speak with the Nayeon. 

Sana bows as the store owner goes inside the back of the store. She’s checking her phone when she feels someone move beside her. She looks sideways to look at the girl standing with her at the counter before turning back to her phone. And then something clicks in her brain, she slowly looks to the girl again. 

The girl had shoulder length pink hair, tan colored skin and big bright eyes. She had her face mask pulled down to her chin. She noticed how Sana was staring at her so she gives her a kind smile. 

The Japanese quickly smiles and looks away, realizing she’s been rude for staring. Just then the store owner returns and smiles at her. 

The old lady also smiles at the other girl, recognizing her. ”Ah, Jihyo-ssi, you’re back for more knitting threads? I have new arrivals today.” 

Jihyo politely bows. “Oh, that’s great. I hope there are more colors to choose from.” 

The store owner laughs. “Yes, yes. I’ll show them to you in a bit.” 

Sana just watched. She’s impressed at how kind this KPop Idol seems to be in real life. Oh, she cannot wait to rub this in Dahyun’s face. 

The store owner then turns to Sana as a middle aged man walks out from the back of the store and bows to the customers. “This is my son. He can speak to your friend.” 

Sana bows. “Thank you.” 

The man walks out of the counter and follows Sana to where she left Nayeon. Now, she’s debating whether or not to ask for a picture with Jihyo. 

They got to aisle where they see Nayeon crouching on the floor, comparing two fabrics. 

Nayeon looks up when she hears someone clearing their throat. 

Sana introduced them. “Nayeon-ssi, this is the son of the store owner.” 

Nayeon bows and extends her hand to shake his in the curtsy Korean way. The man does the same. “My name is Im Nayeon, thank you for meeting me.” 

“I’m Lee Joongi. I manage my parent’s store.” 

“I represent IM Interiors. It’s a furniture and interior design company based in Los Angeles. And I’d like to talk to you about a possible collaboration with your stores organic fabrics, if you have the time.” 

Mr. Lee smiles. “I have time now and we can also schedule a more formal meeting this week.” 

“That sounds great, I’d like that.” 

Sana clears her throat once again. Nayeon and Mr. Lee look at her. “I’m going to excuse myself from this business talk and just go check some threads.” 

She intended to listen in and observe how Nayeon does business talks since that’s her major in college but she just can’t let this opportunity go. She’s decided she’ll politely ask for a selca and if Jihyo declines she’s going to be perfectly fine with it.

***

Sana pretends to check the fabrics while searching for the KPop idol. She started following the group after Dahyun forced her to watch one of their music videos. Little Dubu was right, Twice’s legendary and she had become a Once since then. 

As she gets close to the thread sections, she sees Jihyo looking at the balls of yarn the store owner is showing her. She also noticed that there’s another girl with them. A girl with purple hair, wearing a beanie and enjoying a cup of ice cream all by herself.

 _Oh my gosh. Jeongyeon’s here too._ Sana feels so lucky. 

Jeongyeon sees her and smiles. That gave Sana the courage to walk closer to the group. 

Sana bows. “Excuse me. I don’t mean to be a bother but I just want to ask if it’s okay to take a picture with you. I promise I won’t post it immediately. Maybe after a few hours, but I'm not going to tag this location. I want to show my friend that I saw you today and maybe make her a little jealous.” 

The Twice members laugh at how fast Sana explained that. They bowed to her as well and took turns in taking their photos taken. Sana continued saying thank you to the two girls and to the store owner who looked confused. She clearly had no idea that her knitting thread buyers are quite famous.

***

Nayeon spent almost half an hour talking to Mr. Lee and is now waiting for him to return with brochures and a list of fabrics they offer so she can show it to her brother. She also requested for a fabric swatch book that she can send to her brother for approval. 

She’s taking photos of the fabrics she likes when she catches movements on her peripheral visions. She looks to the side and what she sees caught her by surprise. 

A few meters away stands hoodie bar girl except this time, she's wearing a white floral top paired with a pleated black skirt that shows enough legs. She can’t help but check her out. Hoodie bar girl was hot but this fabric store girl is way hotter. Again, Nayeon reminds herself to stop with the nicknames. 

Mina, who was cradling several balls of different colored threads in her hands, just looks at college girl in shock. Judging by the way other girl looks at her, she can tell that the feelings are mutual. _Unbelievable._

They stay like that for a while, staring at each other until Sana calls out Nayeon’s name. 

“Nayeon-ssi! Nayeon-ssi!” 

Nayeon turns around. “I’m here.” She looks back to where fabric store girl was but she was already gone. Nayeon lets out a heavy sigh, maybe she wasn’t really there in the first place. Imagination? Was she subconsciously hoping to see that girl again?

“There you are.” 

“Where did you go? I thought you wanted to help me with the important business deal.” 

“Yeah, well something more important came up and Dubu’s going to hate me and love me at the same time.” 

Nayeon squints, “What did you do now?” 

“So, remember we told you about the KPop group Dubu’s obsessing over?” 

“Fangirling.” She corrects Sana. 

“We both know how intense she can get.” 

They both start to walk around the store towards the counter with Sana’s arm draped over Nayeon’s shoulder. 

“So anyway, Twice, two of their members are here buying yarns or something. I think they’re already leaving. But I got them to take pictures with me. They’re so nice. Here, let me show you.” 

Sana was about to show Nayeon the photos when Mr. Lee arrives. 

Sana withdrew her hand from Nayeon and stood a few steps behind while the Korean approached Mr. Lee. The Korean businessman handed Nayeon the swatch book and brochures she requested and exchange email address and contact numbers. 

Nayeon shakes his hand. “Thank you, Mr. Lee. I really appreciate your time today. Thanks for showing me these beautiful fabrics.” 

Mr. Lee bows, “It is my pleasure.”

***

Mina and Jihyo are at the counter paying for the knitting items they bought while Jeongyeon’s messaging their manager to pick them up. 

The Japanese ballerina was looking around the store when her eyes landed on two girls standing at corner talking to the store owner’s son. They have their back on Mina. _Could she really be college girl from the other night?_

***

“I’ll make sure to get back to you before this week ends. Our CEO may even contact you soon.” Nayeon stated.

***

Hearing that voice, Mina’s now 100% sure that it’s the same college girl. What does she do with that information? Does college girl frequent this place too? It sounds like she’s here for business, though. College girl looks so hot with the way she casually rolled up the sleeves of her navy blue coat. Maybe one more glance won’t hurt, right? One more – 

Jeongyeon calls out. “The car’s just right outside the corner. Let’s go.”

***

Sana shows Nayeon the photos she took with Jeongyeon and Jihyo. _These girls are pretty._ No wonder her friends became their fans. And speaking of pretty girls, her mind wonders back to hoodie bar girl turned fabric store girl. Nayeon almost didn’t recognize her but her eyes gave her away. It’s the same enchanting eyes. 

Then there’s a nagging voice at the back of her head telling her to look at her left side and there she was again – beautiful fabric store girl, standing outside the store, looking straight at her through the glass window. 

_Fuck it,_ Nayeon’s just going to run outside and get her number. 

Or maybe not? 

She watches as another girl suddenly walks up to fabric store girl and whispers something to her. Fabric store girl nods at her, puts her face mask on before walking away. And then she’s gone.

***

The flatmates are in the car repair shop picking up the younger Korean’s car. They’re sitting beside each other at the waiting area while Dahyun’s staring at the photos Sana sent to their group chat. A group chat Sana had just recently renamed to _Sanayeon + Sad Fangirl Dubu._

Dahyun shakes her head in disbelief. “I still can’t believe she got to see them. I know I should’ve skipped my classes yesterday.” 

Nayeon smacks her arm. “We don’t skip classes for girls, remember?”

That was their bro code – all three of them. Whatever crazy things any of them would get into should not get in the way of them attending their classes. That was Sana’s influence on them, really. She’s the one that really loves school. 

“It’s so unfair.” Dahyun locks her phone. “You got laid. Sana met two-fifth of Twice. All in just a span of like two days. And what do I get? I get to pay this car repair using my college funds.” 

“Hey, at least you have a car.” 

“Yeah, but dad’s not paying for gas anymore. That will also be deducted from my college funds. He’s teaching me financial literacy and I don’t like it.” 

“Hey, why don’t you just move in with me? I have a spare room and my place’s near uni. You can save up on gas too.” 

“You and me? In your high end apartment in the city, huh?” 

“Yeah. It’s not like we haven’t lived in the same house before. We had fun, right?” 

Dahyun chuckles, “Except now we don’t have to sneak out of the house and steal your brother’s mustang.” 

“We borrowed it. We didn’t steal it.” 

“And it eventually became yours after you crashed it. Your mom was furious. Your dad was impressed.” 

“Yeah, they always have opposite reactions to everything we do. Those were good times.” 

“The best.” 

Nayeon leans back into her seat and Dahyun studies her bestfriend’s face. 

“You miss them, Nayeonnie?” 

“A lot. All the time.” 

Dahyun also leans back into her seat as they both look at the wall in opposite them. “You sure Jinyoung oppa won’t mind?” 

“Are you kidding? He’s actually surprised you haven’t moved in yet.” She nudged Dahyun’s shoulders. “Come on, I’ll share gas with you if I can hitch a ride to uni.” 

Dahyun thinks for a minute. “I guess I’ll be packing my stuff tonight, then. Want to help?” 

“No. But I can hang out with your mom while we watch you pack your stuff.” 

Dahyun’s car was released and they drove straight to her parent’s house. The Kims were a little reluctant to let her go but they trust Nayeon. At least their daughter’s just going to move to a different city and not leaving the country just like last time. 

Once back in the apartment, Dahyun puts the food Mrs. Kim cooked for them in the fridge, ready for reheat in the morning. 

“So, same rules apply right?” 

Dahyun turns around and give Nayeon a salute. “I don’t get in your way, you don’t get in mine. White wine’s yours, red’s mine. If you didn’t see it, it didn’t happen.” 

“Works for me.” 

They shake hands before retiring to their own rooms. And just like that, it feels like Los Angeles all over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 chapters in one day, wow, I feel like Im updating faster than usual.  
> I should pat myself on the back and order a large box of pizza.  
> \m/  
> I hope you liked the updates :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still unbeta-ed :)  
> You know the drill.

Twice is a guest in an afternoon TV show to promote the new cosmetics line they are endorsing. It’s going to be a live broadcast and everyone’s reading their script while getting make up retouches. 

Mina is memorizing her script when Chaeyoung approached and sat beside her. “Unnie, do you have plans tonight?” 

Mina puts the script aside. “Not really, what’s up?” 

“We have a free night tonight, right? So Tzuyu and I wanted to go out for dinner and maybe some drinks too.” 

”Tzuyu, can’t drink yet. Legally speaking. And so can’t you.” Mina frowns at Chaeyoung who is just throwing all her aegyo power to her unnie. _Aha!_ “You just need me for ordering alcohol. I feel so used Son Chaeyoung.” 

“It’s our treat, unnie. Come on, it’s been a long time since the maknae line had dinner together.” She hugs Mina’s arm. “Cause it’s either you’re busy knitting or killing zombies on your video games or just sneaking out. You’re not really that stealth, unnie.” 

Mina feigns shock. “You mean all that hours I spent playing Assassin’s creed were for nothing. That sucks."

***

Dahyun and Sana are on the couch of Nayeon’s apartment watching the live broadcast of Twice TV guesting. They’re both singing and dancing along with the song. 

While Nayeon is at the loft, sitting on her bed, talking to Jinyoung through another video call. She sent all the details of the meeting with Mr. Lee for her brother to review. 

_“It sounds like a party’s happening downstairs. You’re missing out.”_

“Yeah, Dubu and Sana-chan are watching their favorite girl group on TV. Apparently, they’re really big in Korean now.”

 _“Who’s big in Korea now? Dahyun and Sana?”_

“They’re the biggest dorks in Korean.” Nayeon laughs. “No, I mean the girl group those dorks are following, they’re really famous according to Dubu.” 

Jinyoung is in his Los Angeles home looking at the print outs of the documents Nayeon sent. 

“So, what do you think? I sent the swatch books through FedEx. It should be there by Friday.” Nayeon checks the tracking information.

_“I like what I'm seeing so far.”_

“That’s good. Let me know as soon as you make a decision?”

_“Of course. Now go join those two dorks downstairs. I need to go to bed anyway. We’ll talk again soon.”_

“Goodnight.”

***

Nayeon skips down the stairs and flops herself on the couch in between Dahyun and Sana. “What are we watching?” 

Dahyun throws her hands up, exaggerating. “Aww you just missed them. You should’ve seen Twice. They’re amazing.” 

“Oh, you know, their TV faces are nothing compared to real life faces.” Sana proudly said. “Well, I don’t know about the other members but Jihyo and Jeongyeon are really flawless up close.” 

Dahyun’s irritated. “You’re never going to stop with that, huh?” 

“Never.” The Japanese grins. 

Nayeon enjoys this banter between her two friends. Nothing is more entertaining than to watch them annoy the hell out of each other. “You know the best thing I miss about Korea? Aside from the two of you?” 

“What are you talking about? We’re the only best thing around here.” Sana’s almost insulted. 

Dahyun, ignoring Sana, “What?” 

“Samgyeopsal.” Nayeon squeals. “My treat, let’s go.”

***

Twice maknae line is in a speakeasy that offers a safe environment to celebrities. True to their word, the younger girls paid for dinner and they are now enjoying their dessert. Mina ordered a bottled of white wine and discreetly shared it with the younger ones. Not that the restaurant staff would check anyway. 

“What do you think about this comeback?” Chaeyoung starts another topic. 

“I’m hoping they consider that mature concept we all talked about.” Mina said. “I’m a little over cutesy school girl concept.” 

“I hope we get to do your song too, Chaeng.” Tzuyu swirling her drink. “I know Jihyo unnie’s working to get it included in this comeback.” 

“Yeah, she told me but I won’t hold my breath for it.” Chaeyoung’s sullen. 

Tzuyu attempts to cheer her up. “It’s a really good song. It will perfectly fit the mature concept.” 

“Remember that 5 hour meeting Jihyo unnie had to go through to have Sunset in the last comeback.” Chaeyoung started playing with her dessert. “I don’t want to go through that. It’s like defending your thesis for school.” 

Mina reaches out to squeeze Chaeyoung’s hand. “Don’t worry, in GodJihyo we trust.” 

“Right.” 

“Speaking of school, have you two picked a university for college next year?” 

“We narrowed it down to two universities but we still can’t decide.” The Taiwanese finished her drink. 

“Do you have to attend the same uni together?” 

Chaeyoung nods. “That’s what the company preferred. We still have time to decide.” 

“Or we could always just cancel college plans all together.” Tzuyu deadpanned.

***

Mina and Tzuyu wait for Chaeyoung outside the restaurant while the younger rapper settles the final bill. 

It’s a quiet street, though there are pojangmachas in the area, it’s still a low-key type of place. This is what the maknaes like about hanging out with Mina. She has a knack for finding cool places that are less crowded – some place where they could really just chill and enjoy each other’s company just like normal people. 

Tzuyu had messaged their manager to pick them up a few minutes earlier and they’re just waiting for their ride. “Yongjin oppa should be here in like five minutes. I should really get my own license. That way we wouldn’t have to wait for our ride if we’re not with Jihyo unnie.” 

Mina just nods at the youngest member’s sentiment then she hears someone shouts from the across the street. 

“Nayeon-ssi!” 

Mina must be hearing things in her head. _Isn’t that college girl’s name?_

“Nayeon-ssi!“

Or maybe the wine’s kicking in. 

“NAYEON-SSI!” 

Nope, definitely not in her head.

Mina turns around to see two girls waving to someone on the other side of the street, the same side she and Tzuyu are standing on. She follows the waving pair’s line of sight and saw Nayeon. Yes, it’s Nayeon.

_That’s a Korean name, isn’t it?_

***

Nayeon had been craving for gyeranppang since she arrived. It’s one of her favorite Korean street food. The trio was headed to the pub at the end of the crossroad for a night cap when the she spotted the food stall across the street. 

She immediately ran to the other side of the road and her friends may not have seen her leave their side based on the way Sana screamed her name in this quiet street. 

She turns around and points to the pub. ”I’ll meet you there!” Nayeon shouted back.

***

Mina watches as Nayeon turns her attention back to the food stall owner. She looks so excited with the bag of gyeranppang she was handed. The ballerina then thought about paying that pub a visit – the same pub that Nayeon is now walking to while taking generous bites of the hot snack in her hand. 

She pulls her phone out and checks their schedule for the next day – strategic meeting at 10 AM, vocal classes at noon and then dance classes for the rest of the day. Mina considers this as a black SUV pulled over in front of them. 

***

Dahyun and Sana watch in amusement as Nayeon finishes her second gyeranppang in less than five minutes. 

“Did you really finish two gyeranppang just now?” Sana asked, still not believing what Nayeon just did in front of them. “After that very heavy dinner we just had.” 

“What? I missed it. There’s nothing like this in LA.” 

“You know it’s fairly easy to make that at home.” Sana said. 

“I want the authentic Korean one, street style.” 

“Ayyy” Sana cringes. “Your stomach’s going to be in so much trouble tomorrow especially since you’ve had soju shots earlier.” 

Dahyun brushes Sana off. “She can handle it. Her stomach’s like a bottomless pit.” 

Their drinks arrived with three shot glasses of tequila. 

“Who ordered the shots?” Dahyun panics. “I’m not going to have one. I’m the designated driver tonight.” 

“What makes you think one of those shots is for you? That’s one for Nabong and two for me.” 

“Hey, we’re not here to get drunk.” Nayeon’s a bit hesitant. “It’s not yet the weekends. Just light drinking, you know, like a night cap.” 

“Right. Whatever, I’m not the designated driver tonight and I don’t have early classes tomorrow so let’s cheers to that.” Sana raises her shot glass and clinks it to Nayeon’s tequila shot and Dahyun’s iced tea. 

Nayeon and Dahyun share a knowing look, watching Sana downs the second tequila shot as soon as she finished the first one. This is one of those times that they’re going to let Sana drink whatever she wants to drink to compensate for all those times that she was their designated driver. 

Nayeon pushed the tequila shot away from her and was drinking beer instead when her eyes landed on a girl at the bar that’s already looking at her. Her heart almost jumped out of her chest when she recognized who it was. 

“Hey, I’m just going to…” 

Nayeon gets up from her seat without finishing her sentence and heads straight to the bar. 

Mina looks back to her drink. She’s now wondering if this is a good idea. She never thought she’s ever going to want a one night stand partner for a second time. Yet here she is, at the corner bar in a dark pub, heart racing as she feels the girl closely standing beside her. 

Nayeon leans into the bar and turns her head to look at fabric store girl. She’s not wearing an oversized hoodie now but she can see the ball cap that’s resting on the bar beside a glass of alcohol. 

“Well, third’s time a charm.” Nayeon starts. “What do you say about letting me buy you a drink this time?” 

“No, thank you. I’m not yet done with this one.” Mina nodded to her drink. 

Nayeon just smiles and holds a hand out. “How about letting me introduce myself then? I’m Nayeon.” 

“My name’s Mina.” She gives her hand a light squeeze before releasing it. She normally uses her American name in times like this so she panicked a little when she gave her real name. 

“Beautiful name for a beautiful girl like you.” 

“Does that line really work?” 

“You tell me.” Nayeon wiggles her eyebrows,

Mina just shakes her head and scoffs.

“I got to say, you looked different when I saw you that afternoon at the fabric store.” 

“Afternoon me and evening me have their differences.” 

“Is that so?” Mina nods and smirks a little too flirty as Nayeon moves closer to whisper in her ears. “Then would the evening you like to discuss about those differences back at my place?”

“Sure, but no talking.”

***

Dahyun saw Nayeon walked out the pub with a girl. She couldn’t see the other girl’s face since the ball cap she’s wearing casts shadow over it. But one thing’s for sure, she would have to wait for at least an hour before going back to the apartment. 

And oh, right. She needs to bring Sana home first. 

Dahyun shakes the Japanese girl’s shoulders. “Sana-chan, let’s get you home.” She’s really drunk after 3 shots of tequila – she also took the shot that was supposed to be Nayeon’s. 

Sana mumbles. “Mmmkay.”

***

Mina watches the sleeping Korean while she quietly slips her pants on. She stops moving when Nayeon turns to her side – _Please don’t wake up –_ and lets out a sigh of relief when the other girl didn’t wake. She looks around for her jacket and finds it resting on the side table so she carefully walks towards the bed to get it. 

She gives Nayeon’s tattoos a closer look. There are three small stars on the inside of her right wrist and of course, that one on her collar bone. She clearly sees it now. It’s definitely a phrase written in English but it looks strange, almost like it’s written backwards. Mina will have to ask about it some other time. 

_Wait, no there won’t be another time. There shouldn’t be. It’s already weird_. She followed Nayeon into that pub and agreed to go with her. But why? She’s never done anything like this before. It’s supposed to be a one-time-thing. That’s the whole concept of a one night stand. 

“What am I doing?” Mina mumbles to herself. 

Mina said it really quietly so she got a little worried when she sees Nayeon starts to stir again. Mina pulls back a little as the college girl slowly opens her eyes and looks at her with a sloppy smile before closing her eyes again. And just like that Nayeon’s back to her deep slumber. 

_This is it. This is the last time. This should be the last time._

Mina sighs again before standing back up and walks out of the room. Fighting the urge to look back, she leaves without even looking for her sock’s other pair. She’s going back to the dorm with only one sock on. Again.

***

Dahyun walks out of her bedroom to find Nayeon setting up the dining table for breakfast. She leans on the wall, crosses her arms and raises her eyebrows towards her suspiciously giddy friend. 

“Hey. Good morning. I made my world famous breakfast of the champions. Your favorite.” 

“Ah-huh.” 

“What?” 

“Nothing.” 

Nayeon hands her a cup of fresh coffee when she noticed how Dahyun’s trying to hold her laughter but is failing miserably. 

“What?” 

Dahyun shrugs, “Maybe you should leave me and Sana-chan in a pub more often if that means you’re going to be making breakfast the next morning.” 

“I’m sorry. I – I just – ” 

“Hey, don’t apologise. We got each other’s back. Bro code, right? Though I never thought it’ll be with Cinderella again.” 

Nayeon blushed. “How’d you know?” 

“She left her penguin sock again.” Dahyun points to the sock that was on the coffee table in the living room. 

Nayeon looks over and sees it too. “Oh, I didn’t notice that.”

“Two nights with same girl, huh? I thought you don’t do repeats.” 

“I don’t. I just – I didn’t expect to see her again and it was a surprise that she was there at the pub and…“ Nayeon leans back. “There’s something about her. She has these eyes. They’re very enchanting.” 

“Enchanting? Oh no. You’re starting to like her.” 

“No, of course not.” The older Korean laughs.

Dahyun throws a questioning look at Nayeon who just shakes her head. “Okay.” Raises her hands up in surrender. “Did you at least get her number?” 

“No, but I got her name.” 

“What if you see each other again? I mean, how else will you return her penguin socks?” 

“I don’t think we’ll see each other again. The universe doesn’t work that way. It only just gives a maximum of two chances per person and I already got mine.” 

“Sometimes I wonder how your brain works.” 

Nayeon laughs at her own analogy. They talk about what happened after she left her friends at the pub and Dahyun shares the story of a drunk Sana crying because she thought she locked herself inside the car. 

_They’re really the biggest dorks in world. And they’re my dorks._ Nayeon proudly tells herself.

***

Mina and Jihyo are standing by the window of a boardroom in JYP Building, watching the cars on street. They were scheduled to talk about plans and strategies for their upcoming comeback. 

“What do you think about tattoos?” Mina asks. 

“They’re cool but getting them done looks really painful.” Jihyo said thoughtfully. “That’s the second time I picked you up in the same street. Was it with the college girl again?” 

Mina nods, “Yeah.” 

“Mina… “ 

“Look, I didn’t plan on it. I saw her again last night and well, one thing led to another. But she genuinely has no idea who I am.” 

“I hope you’re right.” 

“You have nothing to worry about, Ji. I don’t think Nayeon will tell anyone.” 

“Nayeon? Is that her name? That sounds like a Korean name.” 

Mina nods.

Jihyo stares at Mina until the Japanese girl turns to look at her leader, throwing her a questioning look. “You don’t normally ask for their names.” 

“Well, I didn’t ask but she told me.” 

Jihyo was about to say something else when the door opens and their other members walk in. They take their seats around the large rectangular table as their managers also enter the room. A few moments later, the CEO himself arrives with his marketing team and Twice head manager.

***

It’s already been fifteen minutes since the CEO left, allowing them to digest everything that he had just shared in that 3-hour-meeting. So it’s been fifteen minutes of uncomfortable silence and no one seems to want to break it. 

Until their head manager decides to speak up. “Girls, I know it’s too much to take in right now. But we have to trust PD-nim and his strategies.” 

“How is a dating scandal a strategy?” Of course, it’ll be Chaeyoung to counter this idea. She’s always been the most outspoken and bravest member of their group. “It’s just going to put more pressure on us and give our fans something to worry about. Not to mention, a fight can break out between fandoms. We’ve all seen this happen before.” 

“Chaeng has point.” Jihyo speaks up to support Chaeyoung. “And wasn’t it just a few days ago when you told us about the dating ban and to be very careful about going out?” 

“That was actually part of the plan. We didn’t want Dispatch to see something that may link you to someone else that would jeopardize this fake dating strategy.” Their head manager explains. “We also said the same thing to the boys.” 

“Boys?” 

“Yes. We already talked to Bambam and the rest of GOT7. And Kang Daniel.” 

Chaeyoung got even more annoyed. “Two boys? What are you planning, a love triangle? That’s crazy.” 

“Chaeng…” Jeongyeon reaches out to hold Chaeyoung’s hand. 

They know how feisty their little cub is and she sometimes needs to be restrained. Tzuyu also slides her chair closer to Chaeyoung and rests her head on the shorter girl’s shoulder. 

Chaeyoung lets out a heavy sigh before sinking back into her seat, allowing her members to calm her down. 

“No, it’s not going be a love triangle. Two of you will be paired up with each of them.” 

Jihyo’s curious. “Who did you chose? It can’t be any of the maknaes, we’re not going agree to that.” She’s really over protective of her members. 

“No, not any of the maknaes. It’ll be you.” The head manager nods at Jihyo. “And Mina.” 

Everyone in room looks at a mortified Mina.

***

Nayeon’s sitting on a bench at the school grounds while Sana’s holding her laptop. She’s waiting for the Japanese girl to finish reading a copy of the business proposal his brother’s sending the Gangnam fabric store. 

She looks around as some other students walk around them. It’s a sunny afternoon but the temperature’s just cool enough to be hanging out of the school lounges. 

Sana finishes reading the proposal and quietly hands the laptop back to Nayeon. 

“So, what do you think?” Nayeon asked. 

“That’s a very good proposal. Your brother’s really a genius. Are you sure he can’t come here to give like a Ted talk or something?” 

“Why don’t you ask him about it? I told him that you’re taking up business management now and he’d be glad to help if you have any questions.” 

Sana’s eyes widen. “No, you didn’t.” 

“Sure, did.” 

“Oh, now I’m scared. I might spam him with hundreds of emails everyday.” 

“Please don’t do that.” 

“Too late.” Sana giggles. “You should’ve thought of all the cons before presenting that idea to Jinyoung oppa.” 

Nayeon closes the laptop and slides it into her bag before standing up. “Want to help me present this deal to Mr. Lee?” 

“You just need a ride.” 

Nayeon pouts and so Sana gives in. “Ugh, whatever. Let’s go.”

***

As she sits on the kitchen island of their dorm, drinking a glass of red wine, Mina wonders how all this happened. She just wanted to perform on stage. That was always been her dream growing up. 

When she got the opportunity to audition for JYP, she didn’t let it slip away. She was lucky to have parents who support her dreams and even luckier that they accept her preferences. 

She was only sixteen years old when she told her mother about what she feels towards one of her co-trainees who happens to be a girl. She was back in Japan for the holidays and they were in the kitchen making dinner. Her mother stayed silent for about five minutes, but for Mina, it felt like forever. She was about to apologize when her mother hugged her tightly and thanked her for being honest. Her mother helped her tell her father later that evening. 

Her parents have never made her feel like it’s something she needs to hide. She was raised in an honest environment. Which is why being an idol is kind of hard on her. That was one of the reasons why she was dubbed as the most relaxed and quiet member of Twice. She doesn’t talk much in interviews and events because she’s afraid of slip ups. She hates having to lie about anything. 

She was still deep in her thoughts when Jeongyeon walks in. 

“Unnie, you scared me.” 

“You’re a lot scarier sitting on that kitchen island in dim lights.” 

Jeongyeon opens the fridge and grabs a fruit drink. She opens the bottle and drinks from it, looking at Mina who seems to be staring at nowhere in particular. 

“Are you okay?” Jeongyeon carefully asked. 

“No.” 

“I’m sorry, Mina-chan.” 

“It’s not your fault.” 

Jeongyeon walks closer. “It was supposed to be me.” 

Mina looks at the older Korean who’s now looking down at her fruit juice. 

“They talked to me last week. They told me I might be paired up with someone from the agency. And I was okay with it. But PD-nim was reminded about your...” Jeongyeon gestures. “He wants to prevent any information about that from leaking out so they chose you instead.” 

Mina can’t believe what she was hearing. It’s not because their CEO knows about her sexuality but that the company would go through lengths to hide it. 

“I’m so sorry.” 

“It’s not your fault, unnie.” Mina repeated. She finished her drink and jumped out of the kitchen island. She put the glass in the sink and was walking away when Jeongyeon grabs her arm and pulls her in for a hug. 

“It’s going to be okay.” 

Mina allows herself to feel the tight hug for a few moments before pulling back. “I’m just going to get some air.” 

Jeongyeon knows she’s about to sneak out again. “You be careful, okay?” 

Mina gives her a small smile before walking away. What her member told her definitely adds to the million other thoughts that are currently running through her head. She needs a distraction.

***

_“She actually already sent an email about her thoughts on how the business proposal went earlier. It’s quite cute.”_

Nayeon’s talking to her brother through speaker phone while she cleans up the dishes. “It’s not cute. She’s my friend.“ 

_“You have great friends, Nayeonnie. Just like what Mama always told us, your friends are your chosen family.”_

“Then I chose a bunch of dorks.” 

Buzz. 

Nayeon wipes her hands and moves to answer the intercom. 

A voice comes on. “For Nayeon.” 

“Yes, come on up.” She pressed the button to open the gate for the delivery boy. 

_“Midnight snack?”_

“Yeah. Dahyun’s already sleeping and I’m still a bit jetlagged so I’m going to enjoy a hot bowl of rabeokki by myself.” 

_“Well, don’t stay up too late.”_ Jinyoung reminds her. _“You still have to get used to sleeping in the evening. Korean time."_

“Yes, mom. Have a safe trip to Florida. Stay out of the party scenes.” 

There was a soft knock on the door. 

_“I’ll try. Enjoy your midnight snack. Love you.”_

“Love you.”

Nayeon ends the call and slides the phone into her back pocket before opening the door. She was ready to make a joke if it’s the same delivery boy but she wasn't ready to see who was holding her precious rabeokki plastic bag. 

Mina smiles as she hands the plastic bag to a surprised Nayeon in her oversized Metallica shirt, grey PJs and black socks. _Cute._ “The delivery boy said he’s got another delivery so he gave that to me.”

***

The rabeokki was forgotten on the dining table as Nayeon pushes Mina onto her bed and straddles her. She clumsily unbuttons Mina’s top after removing her own shirt. Once the top was discarded, Mina pulls her in for a kiss. The kiss was hungry and forceful and Nayeon can actually feel anger too. 

_Is this girl angry_ , Nayeon thought. Well, whatever Mina’s reasons were for coming over, she warmly welcomes it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I like writing non-angst Minayeon better.  
> But I still can't do [M] scenes 0_o


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minayeon! Minayeon! MINAYEON!  
> Enjoy :)

Nayeon skips down the stairs just as Dahyun walks out of her room, all ready for school. 

The younger Korean nods at her. “Hey, you must’ve forgotten your rabeokki on the table so I put it in the fridge. It’s still good. You can still heat it up.” 

“Right, thanks.“ Nayeon had forgotten about Dahyun. Now, how does she tell her bestfriend that Mina’s still upstairs? 

She walks to the kitchen counter, takes out a pack of coffee granules from the cupboard and gets the coffee machine working. 

Dahyun leans on the back of the couch while she watches the older Korean make coffee. “So, I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and I heard a few _weird_ noises. I guess you left your door opened again. Was it Cinderella?” 

Nayeon’s face heats up. “Yeah.” 

“Wow. For the third time?!” Dahyun accused her. "You _are_ starting to like her. I knew it!” 

Nayeon turns around to shush her and aggressively points upwards. It may have taken Dahyun a few seconds to understand what she meant but at least she got it. 

“Oh, she’s still upstairs, huh?” Dahyun covers her mouth. 

“Yes.” Nayeon hissed. 

Dahyun straightens up and picks her bag off the floor. She gives Nayeon two thumbs up before quickly moving to the door.

“Okay. So, I’m going to school now!” Dahyun calls out. “And I won’t be back until like really _really_ late. Bye Cinderella! Bye Nayeonnie.” 

Nayeon shakes her head in amusement at how dramatic Dahyun was. She’ll deal with her later. 

“Cinderella?” Mina asks curiously. 

Nayeon laughs and looks at Mina walking towards the kitchen and sits at the dining table. 

“Yeah. You know, just like how Cinderella left her glass shoe at the ball, you left a sock the last time you were here. And the time before that too. Actually, do you want them back? Cause I’m honestly not sure where they are.” 

“No, no it’s fine.” Mina shakes her head. “Nayeon, I’m sorry for showing up here unannounced.” 

“It’s okay. You can always show up anytime.” Nayeon frowns and mentally kicks herself. 

Why did she have to say that? Now there’s an awkward silence. 

“Can I use your bathroom?” 

“Yeah, go right ahead.” Nayeon points.

***

Mina walks out of the bathroom a few minutes later to find Nayeon still sitting at the dining table with two cups of coffee. She knows she needs to just leave but the smell of freshly brewed coffee is just so inviting. So, she takes the seat across the college girl. 

Nayeon carefully pushed the hot mug of coffee towards Mina then pushed the basket that has the creamer and sugar – and all other condiments – closer to the other girl. 

“Do you like milk in your coffee?” 

Mina shakes her head. “No, I like it black.” 

“Oh, that’s great cause we actually don’t have milk in this house.“ 

“No milk?” 

“Nope.” Nayeon sips hot coffee. “No milk.”

“What do you put in your cereals then?” 

“I don’t eat cereals. Those are for kids.” 

“And here I thought I could trust you.” 

They share a laugh and Nayeon can’t help but stare at the beautiful girl in front of her. In the bright morning light, at her dining table, she finds more moles on Mina’s face. It’s like a constellation of stars. She wonders how it would be like to trace them with her fingers. The more she stares at Mina the more she realizes she’s not Korean. 

“You’re not Korean, are you?” 

“No. I’m Japanese.” Mina can now really confirm that this girl don’t know who she is. 

“Oh, really? Japan is a beautiful country. I loved it there.” 

“It is. Have you been?” She can also confirm that Nayeon makes really good coffee. 

“Yeah. My whole family went to Osaka for my 14th birthday.” Nayeon reminisced. “I’d like to go back and visit again someday.” 

“You should. A lot has changed and it’s even more beautiful now.” 

_She has bunny teeth, why did I just notice that now?_ Mina watches as Nayeon’s smile drops, like her mind had wandered off somewhere else. Her eyes travel from Nayeon’s eyes to her cute button nose, strong jaws, and plump lips. Mina had a sudden urge to taste those lips again. 

“You know I don’t do this.” 

Mina snaps out of her daze. “What? Coffee in the morning?” 

“Yeah, coffee in the morning after having a one night stand. Well, in our case, three night stands.” Nayeon chuckled. “I’ve never done this before but with you, I don’t know…“ 

“Are you starting to like me?” Remembering what she overheard from Nayeon’s flatmate earlier. 

Nayeon laughs. “Well, you are very beautiful and a really good kisser.” 

“I know. You’re not so bad yourself.” 

“Would you like to hang out sometime?” 

“Let me think about it.” Mina smiles then her phone rings. She pulls it out of her pocket and looks at the screen that displays “ _Jigglypuff calling_ …”. Mina gives Nayeon a small bow and turns to her side to answer the call. 

_"Hey.”_

_Jigglypuff: “Are you at the college girl’s place?”_

_“Yeah?”_

_Jigglypuff: “O-kay. PD-nim wants to speak with us later after vocal lessons. Do you want me to pick you up?”_

_“No, thanks. I’ll be fine. I’ll see you later.“_

Mina ends the call, turns back around and finishes her coffee. She then stands up to leave. “I have to go. Thanks for the coffee.” 

“You’re welcome.” 

Mina was already near the door when she stops and turns back around. She holds her phone out and waves it at Nayeon. “Give me your number.” 

Nayeon quickly moves close and grabs Mina’s phone to type her phone number. She’s too excited, obviously. She returns the phone and watches her save it. 

Mina slips the phone back into her pocket and takes a step forward to close the distance between them. The Japanese leans for a kiss. It was supposed to just be a quick peck but then she feels Nayeon’s soft hands on her face. 

Nayeon had pulled Mina closer to deepen the kiss. She softly bit on Mina’s lower lip and the girl moans into her mouth. 

Mina feels hot hands on the skin on her back. She didn’t even realize that Nayeon had let go of her face. The mixture of coffee and lip balm tastes so good it’s driving her crazy. Why is this driving her crazy? Wait. She really has to go. She pulls back but stays close while Nayeon’s still holding her. 

“Wow.” Nayeon breathes out. 

“Yeah. I’ll text you.” 

Mina steps out Nayeon’s hold to put her shoes on. She gives her one last smile before walking out of the door leaving the Korean with a silly grin on her face.

***

Mina and Jihyo wait as their PD-nim paced around his office. They’re sitting on the chairs opposite the desk that has the CEO placard, with their managers also in the room. 

“Remember when YG tipped off Dispatch about Jisoo and Kai a month before her Solo was scheduled to come out?” PD-nim starts. “That’s strategy. And it works. That Solo album sold more copies than her group’s prior comeback.” 

Jihyo reach out to holds Mina’s hand. 

“It’s only going to be for a while. A month and a half. Two months top. GOT7 will kick off their tour in two months and we need people to start talking about it. This fake dating scandal will help with publicity.” 

The CEO goes to sit back on his chair behind the desk and leans in to look at Mina and Jihyo. “And Daniel is starting up his own entertainment agency. This will be a great opportunity for the company and we can always use this for future collaborations.” 

Jihyo looks at Mina, she can’t read the Japanese girl’s poker face. It’s hard to guess what she’s thinking and so she gives her hand a reassuring squeeze. This move seemed to snap the Japanese girl out of her thoughts. She looks back at Jihyo and smiles. 

“Two months before your own comeback, we’ll clear everything out and tell everyone that they misinterpreted what they saw.” 

“Do we really need to go out on dates with them?” Jihyo asked. 

“No, not really.” PD-nim explains. “A couple of pictures of you in the same place at the same time will do. They can pick you up from rehearsals or drop you off at the dorm. We don’t need to have a literal sit down dinner date photos to be taken. Which reminds me, Jihyo, you need to borrow one of the company cars. We can’t have them taking photos of your actual car.” 

The CEO hands Jihyo a list of the company cars she can use for this _fake dating_ strategy. 

Then he turns to Mina. ”Mina-ya, I know this is hard on you given your… your preferences. I may not agree with it but I’m not your parent so I’m not going to demand for you to change your life choices. But as your boss, I would like for you to go along with this plan. Not just for the company’s sake, but for yours as well. You have incredible talents and I would hate for them to go to waste just because the world is not yet ready for who you really are.”

Mina holds back tears that are starting to form. Jihyo tightens her hold on Mina’s hands. Mina hates lying. She promised herself that she’ll always be honest, no matter what but she has no choice now that her career is on the line. So she just silently nods in agreement. 

“Good. Now let’s talk about timelines.”

***

Dahyun looks up from her laptop when Nayeon and Sana join her in the university’s cafeteria. 

Nayeon placed an iced coffee and a box of sliced cake on Dahyun’s side of the table before sitting down on the other side next to Sana who’s already digging on her afternoon snack. 

Dahyun looks at the suspicious treats. “Is this another type of bribery, Im Nayeon?” 

“Just take it. It’s chocolate mousse, your favorite.” 

Dahyun’s still looking at her suspiciously as she sets her laptop aside and opens the box of cake. “I have to say, I thought you were going to skip your afternoon classes.” 

“Why would you think that?” 

“Well, you know, cause of Cinderella.” 

“She has a name.” 

Dahyun waves her hand dismissively at Nayeon. “No, I know, but Cinderella has a nice ring to it. I like the backstory of it.” 

Sana jumps in, “Who’s Cinderella?” 

Dahyun leans forward. “You know that girl Nabong took home on her first night back?” Sana nods. “Well, they’ve seen each other three times now. And everytime, she’d leave one of her socks in the apartment hence, Cinderella.” 

The younger Korean smiles proudly when she finished bringing Sana up to speed with Nayeon’s sex life. 

“And I only find out about this now?! Wow.” Sana, exasperated, turning to Nayeon, “I thought you don’t do repeats.” 

“That’s what I said.” Dahyun pointed out. “Oh, and she stayed over last night. They had coffee this morning.” 

Sana’s amused. “You like _like_ her now, don’t you?” 

“I said that too.” 

Nayeon asks flatly. “Are you two sharing the same brain cells now?” 

Sana puts her snack down on the table. “Nabong, this is serious.” 

“No, it’s not.” 

“Yes, it is. We’ve been friends for such a long time now that we know you don’t break your routine for just anything or anyone.” 

“I didn’t break my routine.” Nayeon said defensively. 

Dahyun speaks with a mouthful of mousse. “You already did. Three times. But who’s counting?” 

“Okay.” Nayeon drops her fork and looks at her friends seriously. “So, your point is…?” 

The Japanese girl pokes Nayeon’s shoulders. “Maybe, you should start dating again. You know, like go on real dates, dinner, movies, parks and not just hook ups with random people.” 

“Is this your way of getting rid of me?” 

“We all know we can’t get rid of each other.” Dahyun speaks the truth. “Especially, Sana-chan. She’s just too damn clingy.” 

“Hey, don’t say bad words.” Sana reached over to hit the younger Korean with a plastic fork. Dahyun ducks but was a little slow and so she still got hit on the head. 

“Maybe you two should start dating?” Nayeon wiggles her eyebrows suggestively. 

“No.” 

“Not only is that incest but Dubu’s not my type. And I just got out a relationship remember? I’m still mending a broken heart.” 

“You and Joy only dated for like five months and broke up just three months ago.” Dahyun reminds Sana. “You scared her away after giving her a necklace with a heart pendant that says _I love you forever_.” 

“It’s _six_ months.” Sana corrected her. “And I did love her.” Turns back to Nayeon. “And don’t distract me. Maybe you can give this thing with Cinderella a chance.” 

Dahyun nods in agreement. 

Well, Nayeon would be lying if she says that thought didn’t cross her mind. Mina had been running through her head since that first night they met. She blames it on the Japanese hoodie bar girl’s enchanting eyes. “We’ll see.” 

Sana hugs her. “Great. Now, when do I get to meet her?”

***

Mina sits on the floor of their dance studio with her back resting on the wall. They’re on their break and the maknaes went out to get some drinks with Jeongyeon while Jihyo is talking to one of their managers. 

She stretched her legs – she can feel her right knee hurting again. She reminds herself to get it checked the next time she visits their chiropractor. She adjusts the knee pad on it and takes a deep breath. 

She looks at her phone that was resting on the floor beside her. The contacts app is opened and it displays Nayeon’s phone number saved under _College_ _G_ ’. She taps on the text message icon and it opens another app. She stares at it for a while. 

_Should I text you?_ Mina is still contemplating when Jihyo appears and sits beside her on the floor. 

“Thank you.” Jihyo breathed out. “For doing it.” 

Mina locks her phone and frowns at Jihyo. “I didn’t just do it for myself. It sucks, but I know it’s going to help the group and I want us to have a successful comeback. We can even get them to approve of Chaeyoungie’s song to be in this album.” 

“Yeah, that’s right. We could definitely bargain that.” Jihyo faced her. “I just want you to know that we love you for who you are. And you can tell me as soon as it gets uncomfortable for you, okay?” 

“Okay. Thank you, Ji. That means a lot to me.” 

Jihyo pulls Mina for a side hug and Mina leans her head on her leader’s shoulder. 

“Will you still be my designated driver?” 

The leader chuckles. “I should start charging you for my services.”

***

There is so much tension in the boardroom now. 

Mina and Jihyo are sitting beside each other on one side of the large wooden table with their managers. The CEO’s situated on the head of the table and on the other side were the boys they’d chosen for the girls. 

Bambam from GOT7, sitting opposite Mina with his manager sitting beside him. 

Kang Daniel is also purposely seated opposite Jihyo with his managers too. 

The girls are holding hands while waiting for someone to break the awkward silence. 

“I believe everyone already knows each other, right.” PD-nim speaks up. “So in front of you are the projected timelines. Also the _Do’s and the Don’ts_ and the extent to which this fake dating strategy can go.” 

Mina looks at the papers in front of her. It has a detailed list of what will happen in the upcoming months. It has a description of what they’re only allowed to do. Like having a car door opened by the boy to let the girl in but no touching on any body parts, not even on the hands. The closest they can be pictured together is no closer than a foot. 

There is also a clause that they cannot acknowledge anything once the _dating_ news comes out. 

This agreement stays between everyone that’s currently in the boardroom and their managers. Although Mina knows that Jihyo cannot wait to get back to the dorm and share this with the other members. 

“So, I’ll leave you to talk and maybe get to know each other. Professionally speaking. I’ll have lunch brought here for everyone.” PD-nim leaves. 

Mina looks over to see Bambam smiling at her. She gives him a bow. They know each other since he’s part of the group that’s two years older than Twice. They’ve also been in training together before their debut with their respected groups. 

“Mina-ya, you okay?” Jihyo whispered. 

“Yeah. You?” 

“Yeah. Daniel looks like an okay guy.” 

Mina and Jihyo look at Daniel who was going through the details with his managers when he noticed them. He immediately smiles and bows. And Mina thinks she sees Jihyo blushed. 

“And he’s actually kind of cute. I just hope he’s not boring.” Jihyo goes back to reading the clauses on their contract. 

Mina looks back at Bambam who’s now on his phone. At least she’s not paired up with a complete stranger, unlike Jihyo. 

_Maybe this could work._

***

“This is not going to work.” Mina groans, leaning on the sink washing her hands as Jihyo leans on the wall behind her in the ladies room. “He’s not how I remember him from our trainee days.” 

“Well, of course he’s changed. They’ve been idols for almost four years now. You can’t expect him to be same person he was before.” 

“But he’s so arrogant now. You know that’s one of biggest pet peeves.” 

“I know. But you really don’t have to, like, interact with him. We just have to get our pictures taken. That’s all.” 

Mina looks at Jihyo through the mirror and sighs. She seems to be doing this a lot these days. Sigh.

***

Nayeon’s sitting on a corner table of a cafe working on a project on her laptop. She is playing around with the interior design software she just purchased, using the café’s interior as a canvass for her work. 

She initially wanted to be in the film making industry. But after their parents died, she had gotten more serious about getting a degree that’s connected to their family business. She owes it to them to help her brother keep their parents' legacy alive. 

Then her phone buzzed, notifying her of a message received. 

She looks at the screen.

**Unknown Number**

Wanna hang out? – M

There was a moment of confusion before a sly grin spreads on Nayeon’s face.

***

Nayeon’s getting a little overwhelmed walking around the aquarium’s tight spaces but she has to admit, the designs of the interiors are interesting. 

_“So, are you going to tell me where you are? This aquarium’s really big you know.”_ She doesn’t mean to sound rude on the phone talking to Mina. 

Mina's wearing her large hoodie, hiding most of her face, leaning to the tank to tap on the red jellyfish that swam close. " _I told you I’m by the jellyfish tank.”_

 _“There are so many jellyfish tanks here, Mina."_ Nayeon looks back at the map she was given when she entered the aquarium. _“And this map is no help at all.”_

Mina starts walking away from the tank. " _Are you giving up that easily?”_

_“No, I’m not, I didn’t say that. I just don’t want to be wasting time running in circles cause I’m obviously already lost when I could already be taking you out to dinner or something?"_

Mina stops in her tracks and raises her eyebrows. " _You’re taking me out to dinner?”_

_“Yeah. I mean, if you want to.”_ Nayeon bites on her lower lip. She goes to hold the map higher to level her face and get better lighting. _"Okay, let’s try this again. Where are you so I can come get you?”_

 _"I’m standing right behind a very lost college girl.”_

Nayeon frowns then turns around sees Mina standing a few feet away. 

Mina smiles as she puts the phone down. The Japanese girl is wearing a large hoodie with a large shark design. 

Yes, Nayeon is definitely taking this girl out to dinner.

***

They are seated at a table on a balcony of what seems to be a rundown restaurant near the Han River. Nayeon had her suspicions about the place but the foods that were served surprised her. She’s never had a more delicious beef steak meal in her life. She looks over and watches as Mina takes a sip of her red wine. 

“How did you find this place?” 

Mina licks her lips. “I like looking for places that are less crowded, you know, less stressful.” 

“And you don’t have to rush your meal cause there won’t be a line waiting to be seated.”

“Yeah, that too. It’s quite peaceful. It’s beautiful.” Mina looks at Nayeon who was smiling brightly at her. “Like a hidden gem.” 

“Hey, I’m sorry about earlier at the aquarium. Tight spaces overwhelm me. I mean, the actual aquarium was huge but, the hallways were really tight.” 

“I’m sorry I made you go there.” 

“No, don’t apologize. You didn’t know.” 

Mina reaches over and places her hand on top of Nayeon’s. She feels bad about giving the girl panic attacks at the aquarium. What is this girl doing to her? Mina's heart raced when she felt the Korean had taken a hold of her hand too and is now rubbing a thumb over it. Her heart beat gets faster and faster and she needs to put a stop to it before she hyperventilates so Mina slowly pulls her hand away. 

“I love the ocean though. Open space. Clear waters. Plenty of room to breathe.” Nayeon settles back in seat. 

Mina smiles back as Nayeon nods at her hoodie.

“You like sharks, huh?” 

Mina nods. “I think they’re cute. With their thin lips, it looks like they’re smiling.”

“They kill people. They kill seals and penguins.” 

Mina points out. “Those are killer whales. Those are not cute.” 

“And sharks are?” 

“Yes.” 

Nayeon gasps dramatically and holds her chest. “What kind of evil are you, Mina-ssi?!” 

Mina leans into the table and gives her a devilish grin. “Would you want to know?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter is not too confusing.  
> I enjoy writing this Minayeon I don't wanna stop. Lols  
> Let me know what your thoughts are. Thank you :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise.  
> Please enjoy :)

  
Mina sits on the bed dressed in one of Nayeon’s oversize shirt, sending a quick text message to Jihyo.

**Minguin**

Sorry I missed your call.

I'm with N.

**Jigglypuff**

It's fine.

You need me to pick you up?

**Minguin**

No, I’ll just call a taxi.

I’ll see you later.

She didn’t wait for Jihyo’s reply when she puts her phone down. She looks up and watches as Nayeon rummages through her drawer, looking for another large shirt. Checking out the Korean’s toned back, her eyes travel to Nayeon’s butt, covered in skimpy undies, down to her slender legs. And then she noticed something on Nayeon’s socks. 

“Why do your socks have letters L and R on them?” 

Nayeon turns around while putting her shirt on and smiles at the beautiful Japanese girl in front of her. “Oh, it’s kind of an embarrassing story.” 

“I promise not to laugh.” 

But it’s Nayeon who starts laughing while Mina goes to sit properly on the bed, waiting for her to start her story. 

“When I was a kid, I had difficulties learning directions.” Nayeon starts, “So my Pops had the letters L and R embroidered on all my socks. He thought that was an easier way for me to remember which way is left, which way is right. I guess I just never outgrew it.” 

“Aww, that wasn’t embarrassing at all. That was so sweet.” 

“Yeah. My Pops was the sweetest.” 

“Is he back in America?” 

“No. No. He died when I was seventeen. My parents were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary then there was an accident.” 

“I’m so sorry.” Mina quickly stands up to hug Nayeon. She cups the back of her head as the other hand rubs college girl’s back. 

Nayeon thinks it’s too soon to share this part of her life but the way this Japanese is holding her makes her realize how much she missed being this close to someone. “What did I tell you about saying sorry? You don’t have to apologize for things that you didn’t know.” 

Mina hugs her a little tighter. She didn’t mean to remind her about her parents. It must’ve been painful. Mina cannot imagine what it’s like to lose a parent and she doesn’t ever want to. 

Nayeon bends a little so she can bury her face on crook of Mina’s neck. “He would’ve liked you too.” 

“Like me too? Does that mean you like _like_ me now?” 

“Is that even still a question?” 

Mina still rubbing Nayeon’s back. “Maybe I want to hear you say it out loud.” 

Nayeon laughs. “You’re so evil.” She pulls back from the hug and goes to cup Mina’s face with both hands. 

Mina kept her arms wrapped around Nayeon’s waist. The way Nayeon looks at her with intensity makes Mina weak in the knees. _Beautiful brown eyes_. 

“I like you, Mina. I like you a lot. It’s crazy cause I don’t even know your last name but I want to give this a chance.” Nayeon smiles sweetly. “How’s that?” 

Mina blushed before pulling her in for a kiss hoping it’s enough to let the Korean know her answer. 

And Nayeon doesn’t really need to hear it from her. Actions always speak louder than words and this kiss is a screaming yes. She pulls back a little but keeps her forehead pressed her on Mina’s.

“Coffee?” 

“Yes, please.” Mina leans in to kiss her one more time before walking out of the bedroom with Nayeon on her heels.

***

Dahyun drops her bag on the table before walking to the kitchen counter to make coffee when she hears footsteps climbing down from the loft. And judging by the footsteps, it seems like Nayeon is not alone. 

She turns around to greet her bestfriend and maybe tease her a bit when she sees a girl standing beside Nayeon. 

_Ah, this must be Cinderella._ Dahyun thought. She smiles and bows a little when something hit her. Cinderella looks familiar. She immediately looks back up and that’s when it struck her. 

_No way._ Of course she knows this girl. She had seen her face on the cover of the most recent KPop album she’s bought. 

“Mina!” Dahyun almost screamed. 

Mina froze. That’s it. Her cover is blown. This girl clearly recognized her. She turns to Nayeon who looks confused, then back to the girl who’s holding a mug that has KCON 2018 design. 

“Hi.” Mina politely bows. 

Nayeon frowns. “You know each other?” 

Dahyun’s face had already turned white, whiter than her natural color – like she’s seen a ghost or something. “Y-you don’t know her?” She stutters. 

“Of course, I know her. She’s Mina. You know, Cinderella? What’s wrong with you?” Nayeon walks closer to her bestfriend since she seemed to have been frozen in her place. 

Mina remains standing by the foot of the stairs and watches the exchange between these two friends. 

Then Dahyun clears her throat and looks at Mina. “Would you excuse us for a moment?” 

The younger Korean pulls Nayeon to her room without waiting for answer.

Mina drops her head in disappointment. Maybe she should’ve told Nayeon sooner.

***

Once Dahyun closed the door of her room she lets go of Nayeon and walks around the bed to grab something from her study desk. _Of course Nabong wouldn’t know. She doesn’t follow Kpop._

“Okay, seriously, what’s wrong with you?!” Nayeon had never seen Dahyun act this way. 

Dahyun didn’t answer but walks back and hands Nayeon a Twice album. 

“What’s this?“ Nayeon looks at – _wait, what is this? Is this a book? –_ and frowns. 

“Just open it.” The younger Korean’s impatient. 

Nayeon has no idea what’s going on but decided to do what Dahyun said. There’s a CD and what looks like a photobook. She thinks that this is a great packaging idea. Color combinations are beautiful. _Ah! It's a KPop album._ KPop albums are very creative. She scans through the pictures of this group called Twice until she reaches the pages dedicated to the third member. 

Okay. Beautiful gown. Great body proportions. Long, silky brown hair. Moles on the face. Enchanting eyes. _Wait._

Nayeon closed the booklet hoping her eyes had just tricked her into seeing things. She shakes her head before opening it again. 

But, no it’s definitely not a trick. 

Nayeon closed the book one last time and looks at Dahyun who just shrugged at her.

***

They sit in silence at the living room with copies of Twice’s two mini albums resting on the coffee table. There’s a space between them but Nayeon’s glad that Mina stayed. 

Mina actually considered of leaving but even if she didn’t say it out loud, she also wanted give this thing she has with Nayeon a chance. And she does owe her an explanation. 

“So…” Nayeon breaks the silence. “You’re famous.” 

“Kind of.” 

“Having more than 500,000 copies of your latest album sold is more than being _kind of_ famous.” 

Mina squints at her. 

“Dahyun told me. She’s a big fan.” Nayeon explains. “And before you say anything, no, she’s not going to tell anyone. She’s my best friend. I trust her with my life.” 

“Okay. Thanks.” 

Nayeon turns to face Mina, tucking her legs under her on the couch. “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“Because I like the way I feel when I’m with you. Like I’m normal.” Mina bit her lips. “You didn’t have this idol image in your head so you saw me for who I am. And I know it’s selfish but I just want to hold onto that feeling a bit longer.” 

Nayeon watches as Mina takes deep breaths. The sunlight from the window behind Mina makes a great backdrop for this beautiful creature. She really wants to try her chances at real romance again with this girl. 

“Nayeon, there’s a lot challenges that comes with being with me. Rumors. Scandals. Fanservices.” Mina runs a hand through her hair. “And I would have to hide you from the world. Cause if they find out, they’ll come after you too. And I don’t know if you know about Korean papzz, but they’re the worst.” 

“Is that why you’re always covered up? Large hoodies? Bucket hats? Masks?” 

“Yeah, I can’t have people recognize me in places I shouldn’t be at.” Mina tries to read the look on the Korean’s face. Her eyes had turned a darker shade of brown. “I’d understand if you want to stop seeing me. It’ll be totally fine.” 

“Really?” 

“No.” Mina answers truthfully, giving her a sad smile. 

Nayeon scoots closer and reaches to tuck some loose hair on her ear and rubs a thumb on Mina’s cheek. “Let me make you my world famous breakfast of the champions.” 

Mina grabbed Nayeon’s hand that was on her face and sandwiched it between hers. “Nayeon…” 

“Mina, I don’t read celebrity gossips, that’s Dahyun. Look, I don’t know _idol Mina_.” She air-quotes with her free hand. “But I know regular evil person Mina who thinks sharks are cute. And I really _really_ want to date her.”

Nayeon had a huge smile on her face when Mina dived in to hug her. Dating a Korean idol, how bad can that be?

***

Dahyun drives home from school with Nayeon in the passenger seat. The older Korean had afternoon classes and Dahyun waited for her so they can go home together. It was a quiet ride, just the car radio playing. 

“Ah, I don’t think I can hold it in much longer.” 

“Oh, we can drop by the nearest gas station so you can go.” Nayeon rolls down the window and looks outside.

“Huh? What are you talking about?” 

“You need to go the bathroom right?” 

“What?! No. No, I don’t.” 

Nayeon rolls the window back up. “Then what can’t you hold in much longer?” 

“You and Mina.” Dahyun elaborates. “I don’t think I can keep it from Sana. She’s our bestfriend. She has to know.” 

Nayeon sighs. “I don’t want to keep a secret from her too but it’s not just my secret. I have to talk to Mina first.” 

“So, all those times, Cinderella had always been Mina, huh?” 

“Yeah.” 

Dahyun scoffs. “You lucky bitch.” 

“Oh come on, you know I don’t know anything about KPop.” 

“Well now you kind of have to, since you’re dating one of them.” Dahyun danced in her seat. “And you’re also lucky to have me. I can give you a Twice crash course when we get home. We’ll start with music videos and vlogs and Twice TV.” 

“I don’t think I want to know stuff about _idol_ Mina.” 

The younger Korean stops dancing. “Why?” 

“Cause she might be different from the real Mina that I’ve met.” 

“That’s crazy talk. Don’t be silly.“ 

Nayeon shrugs and settles back into her seat.

Then she hears Dahyun gasp. “I just remembered, Sana’s birthday is coming up.” The younger Korean smiles devilishly. “Should we prank her again?” 

“Ha! It was barely even a prank when she looked good in blonde.” 

“Yeah, she did, right? We may have even done her a favor cause that’s when Joy started asking her out. Maybe that why she thinks we like her.” 

_Right._ Nayeon laughs at the memory of a bewildered Sana coming out of the bathroom with blonde her. They put hair dye in her shampoo bottle that day for their birthday surprise. Instead of being mad, Sana squealed in excitement – apparently, the bubbly Japanese had been thinking about changing her hair style. 

That was two years ago. _What to get Sana this year?_

***

“Jihyo said they’ll be here right after her yoga class. I still can’t believe they got her to go with them. 

Mina and Jeongyeon are in the kitchen in their aprons, making two cakes for one of their managers. Mina’s slicing strawberries and kiwis while Jeongyeon’s mixing the icing. 

“Well, that’s the power of Tzuyu’s aegyo.” Mina chuckles. 

Jeongyeon smiles and then looks at Mina who’s now carefully decorating one of the cakes with the fruit slices. 

“Mina-chan –”

“If you’re going to apologize again, unnie, I’m not going to give you a slice of this cake” She’s known Jeongyeon for a long time. They’ve started as JYP trainees almost at the same time. And she knows this prankster tends to blame herself if something didn’t go as planned. 

“I’ll be fine.” Mina reassures her. “We only just have to be pictured together, that’s all. Nothing else. And to be honest, I’d rather it’d be me than you. You might knock him out cold if Bambam tries to be sweet with you or something.” 

“Right. And you’re the ultimate ice princess.” 

Mina throws a small piece of strawberry to Jeongyeon but she blocks it and immediately picks up the piece. 

“Hey, berries are sacred.” Jeongyeon leans over the kitchen island and looks at Mina seriously. “Thank you, Mina-chan.” 

“Unnie, you helped me get through a lot of tough times so, maybe consider us even?” 

Mina’s phone buzzed. The screen displayed “ _College G: New photo received”._ She tapped the phone that’s resting on the counter near the bowl of strawberries. 

Nayeon sent her a shark meme with the caption _“I wanna eat you. I-If that’s okay?”_ and the Japanese burst out laughing at how silly the meme was. 

Jeongyeon just smiled, watched as Mina wipes her hand on her apron and picks up her phone.

**Evil Person**

If this is what its like to date you, I want out.

Sent.

Mina’s still laughing quietly when she puts the phone down. She can’t believe how silly this girl is. 

“So when can we meet this girl who’s melting the ice princess?” 

“Never.“ 

Now it’s Jeongyeon’s turn to throw a piece of strawberry to Mina.

***

The trio’s at the Minatozaki family restaurant helping Sana’s mother in the kitchen. Mrs. Minatozaki was teaching them how to cook their favorite dishes from the restaurant menu. Nayeon’s slicing potatoes while Dahyun’s mixing bowl of kimchi. 

“The secret is to slice the potatoes with the skin on. That makes the stew more flavorful.” Mrs. Minatozaki calls out. “Dahyunie, put more muscle in that kimchi mix.” 

Sana enters the kitchen carrying the restaurant’s ledger. “Mom, she doesn’t have any muscles.” 

“Hey, I have more muscles than you and Nabong combined.” 

Dahyun flexed her arms and Sana rolls her eyes exaggeratedly. Mrs. Minatozaki’s already used to these banters between the three kids. 

“So, I want to go try out that new bowling place at Hongdae on my birthday. Can you clear your schedules? It’s a Tuesday. I know your last class ends at four in the afternoon.” She points the pen she was holding to Dahyun. “And you, you don’t have afternoon classes at all.“ 

“Thank you for clearing out our schedules for us, Sana-chan. What would we do without you?” Dahyun smiled sarcastically. 

“And don’t bother with the cake, I already pre-ordered it.” Sana grins. “You just have to pay for delivery.” 

“Aww, did you already plan your own surprise party?” 

“Yes.” Sana proudly answers. “After what you did the last time you planned my birthday, I’m never trusting the two of you to plan any type of party ever.” 

“Hey, that was the best surprise party ever.” Nayeon laughs at the memory. “You were extremely surprised.” 

“Because I didn’t know most of the people at that party. That was the first time I’ve met them.” 

Nayeon doubles in laughter and high fives Dahyun’s arm – she started hitting the poor girl's arm. 

Then her phone buzzed. She grabs it and grins at the message she received. This Japanese girl had opened Nayeon’s Pandora box of cheesiness. 

Sana looks over. “One person I definitely want to meet is Nayeon’s new girlfriend.” 

“Huh?” Puts her phone away. 

“Nabong, it’s cute that you think we don't notice.” 

“Your aura’s brighter.” Mrs. Minatozaki chimes in. “You’re happier.“ 

“See.” Sana gestures. “Even mom agrees with me. And quite frankly, I’m hurt that you haven’t introduced her to us. Do we mean nothing to you?” 

“It’s just, it’s too soon.” 

Dahyun slowly sinks back into her seat, mixing the kimchi, praying that Sana won’t ask her anything because she might say something she shouldn’t. 

“Well, my birthday’s in like a week. That should be enough time for you.” 

The older Korean looks at Dahyun for support but the younger Korean’s still pretending to be focused on mixing the kimchi bowl. She would love for Sana to meet Mina, but is she ready to introduce this part of her life to the Korean idol?

***

Mina’s playing a video game on her desktop computer when Jihyo enters. She’s already used to her members walking into her room to watch her play or just hang out on her bed.

They just have one rule: if the door is unlocked then that means it’s safe for them to come in. If it’s locked, then it’s better to just wait for the Japanese ballerina to come out. 

Jihyo sits on Mina’s bed and pulls one of her penguin plushie for a hug. She waited until Mina finished the game level she as in. 

Mina spins her chair around and looks at her friend. “You look dead tired.” 

“I can always count on you to say the most honest thing.” 

“What happened?” 

“Well, we finally got a yes to have Strawberry included in the next comeback. So, yay.“ Jihyo lazily claps the plushie’s hands. “They want to rearrange it a little, so we need to record it again. Chaeng will take part in the rearrangement process. It’s her song after all.” 

“That’s good news. What the bad news?” 

“MuBank is coming up and they want to start that _thing_ already.” 

“Oh?” 

“Yeah, they want us to, like, hang out with GOT7 backstage and then you and Bambam would be photographed alone. Make it seem like you two are talking intimately or something.“ 

“Oh.” 

“I’m sorry Mina. I really tried to stall for much later.“ Jihyo let her body fall on Mina’s bed, still holding the penguin plushie. She lets out a heavy sigh as she closed her eyes. 

Mina removed the headphones that hangs on her neck, puts it down on the desk before moving to lie beside Jihyo on the bed. She looks at her exhausted friend and decided to hug her side. 

“You did all you can, Ji. You always do. But there are just some things we can’t control, I guess.” 

“It’s just – ” Jihyo groans, frustrated. “I know how hard it was for you to get comfortable with us knowing you like girls. And you just met someone you really like. This whole thing is like pushing you back into the closet.” 

“Honestly, it kind of feels that way. But if this is how I could help make our comeback a successful one then I’m ready to do it. Sisters first, right?” 

“Thank you, Mina unnie.” That was Tzuyu’s voice. 

Mina and Jihyo look over their shoulders and see their three other members standing by the door. 

“Have you been there the entire time?” Mina raised an eyebrow. 

“Pretty much.” Jeongyeon grins. “We have the perfect snacks for midnight emo talk about how much we all love each other.” 

Jeongyeon shows the box of chicken wings she’s holding while Chaeyoung carries a tub of ice cream. And Tzuyu, well she brought her awesome self. 

“Can we also talk about Mina unnie’s girlfriend?” The maknae deadpanned. 

Everyone looks at Tzuyu. 

“Tzuyu-ya!” 

“What?! I can’t be the only one who’s curious, right?” 

Chaeyoung raised her hand. “I'm curious too.” 

Mina grabs the penguin plushie from Jihyo to cover her face. Can she just go back to her game?

***

It’s already dark and only a few people are out tonight, oblivious to the fact that an idol’s casually eating dinner at one of the benches near the river. 

Mina has the huge bucket hat, covering most of her face, not that anyone can recognize her with how simple she looks. But by force of habit she keeps it on. 

There’s a box of chicken wings in between her and Nayeon, a few bottles of drinks beside it and small box of cheesecake. 

Mina watched Nayeon finished a bowl of rabeokki. “You really like that, don’t you?” 

“I do. It’s one of my favorite Korean dishes.” 

“What are your other favorite Korean food?” 

Nayeon slurps the last bit raboekki and thinks. “Ah, gyeranppang especially when it’s still hot from the street food stall.” 

“Yeah, that’s delicious. My manager makes the best homemade gyeranppang. Do you like Japanese food?” 

“Oh, I most certainly do.” She gives a devilish grin and raises her eyebrows suggestively to Mina who rolls her eyes. 

“You know I meant literal food, Nayeon-ssi.” 

“I do.” She couldn’t help but tease Mina. “I like sushi, sashimi, _Minari_." _She brought it to herself_ , Nayeon thought as she laughs out loud. 

Mina just shakes her head but she had to admit this girl is obnoxiously funny. Charming even. Yes, she finds this smug version of Nayeon charming. 

“Smooth. Did you have pets back in America?” 

“Hmm, we had two dogs when I was growing up. Then when one of them died, we adopted a cat. They get along so well and both of them are living with my brother now.” 

“That’s cute. I’m a dog person. I have a 12-year-old dachshund that’s in Japan with my parents.” 

“Fluffy little hotdogs.” 

“Yeah.” Mina, opening the cheesecake box. “What’s your favorite movie?” 

Nayeon put the empty rabeokki paper bowl in the plastic bag and was wiping her hands when realized what Mina was doing. “Are you playing twenty questions with me?” 

“Maybe.” Mina takes a spoonful of the sweet dessert. “I mean, I know how to make you scream til you pass out but I don’t even know your favorite color.” 

“It’s purple and I don’t pass out.” Nayeon scoffs. “You’re not that good.” 

“Want to make a bet?” 

Now, it’s Mina’s turn to tease her. Nayeon like this sudden turn of event. 

“I was just thinking since we kind of started at step three, it wouldn’t hurt to take a few steps back and get to know the college girl that’s been sending me memes.” Mina scoops another spoonful of cheesecake. “You can ask me any questions too and I’ll give you honest answers.” Feeds Nayeon the sweet dessert. 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Nayeon thinks. “And since you want to get to know me, do you also want to get to know my friends?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really enjoying this non-angst Minayeon so I decided to work on this for now :)  
> I also just have to say this, my sense of humor is not really that great so Im hoping the "funny" scenes in this au are not bland.  
> And if they are, feel free to send me feedback.  
> >_<  
> Thank you for reading.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Sana's birthday :)

“Isn’t this cool? We got the entire alley to ourselves.” Sana twirls around the bowling alley while Dahyun and Nayeon are putting on their party hats. “Thank you for renting the place, Nabong.”

Nayeon looks around the place. As an interior designer in training, it had been a habit to study the structure of every room she goes to. “They could’ve added more texture to the walls. It'll make this place more lively.” 

“Can you stop being an interior designer for once? It’s my birthday.”

“That’s impossible. It’s in Nabong’s blood.” Dahyun’s still adjusting the party hat. “It’s like asking you to stop being clingy everyday.”

“No one asked you, Kim.”

“Happy birthday, Minatozaki. May this be your last.” Dahyun gave up on the party hat, it’s too big. 

Nayeon laughed out loud when Sana threw a shoe to Dahyun. The younger Korean didn’t have enough time to react and so the shoe hits her in the shin. She laughs even louder when Sana starts apologizing. 

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you.”

“What?!” Dahyun’s rubbing her right shin. “Did you expect it go through my body?!”

“Want to throw the other shoe at her, Sana-chan?” Nayeon eggs on the birthday girl. “Maybe the second time’s going to be a charm and pass through her.”

“Don’t encourage her!” Poor Dahyun. Still, she picks up the bowling shoes Sana had thrown at her and helps put it back on.

Once done, Sana squeezed Dahyun in a hug and kissed the top of her head, whispering another sorry. Then she walks up the elevated bowling lanes, takes a deep breath, exhales and then turns around to face her bestfriends.

“Where’s your girlfriend Nayeon?”

“She’s not my girl – we’re dating. We’re dating and I don’t think she’s going to make it. She has…” _Think._ “She has work.”

Nayeon glanced at Dahyun who looked away. Right, Dahyun’s not even going to back her up there. 

“She’s working already?” Sana’s amused. “Is she older than us?”

“Uh, no?”

“You don’t know how old she is? The girl you’re dating.”

“We don’t talk about it. I think we’re the same age.” And it’s true. Now, she wonders why this information never came up in hers and Mina’s conversations. 

“She’s a couple months older than you.” Dahyun said casually.

Nayeon and Sana turn to look at her in surprise. 

Dahyun shuts her eyes when she realized what just happened. She didn’t mean to say it out loud. She just can’t believe that Nayeon didn’t even bother to ask Mina about this. 

“So you’ve met her girlfriend.” Sana crossed her arms and faced Dahyun who started to work on the discarded large party hat again. “That shouldn’t be a surprise since you two live together.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sure there’ll be some other time when she’s not busy.” Nayeon hopes that’ll stop Sana from asking more about Mina.

But Sana’s relentless. “Does she know you’re loaded?”

“Huh?”

“As your bestfriend, it’s my duty to make sure she’s not just after your money or something.”

“I don’t think that’s something we have to worry about.” Dahyun is really itching to just tell Sana.

Sana smirks. “And why is that?”

Just then the door opens and the Trio all turns to see who had entered the private alley.

A girl in black leather jacket and a rather large bucket hat arrives. The girl removes her bucket hat and fixes her hair with a free hand before approaching them. 

Nayeon smirks as she checks her girl out – baggy grey sweatpants, white top and black leather jacket scream sexy. This girl is absolutely gorgeous even in simple clothing.

Sana can’t believe what she’s seeing. “ _Oh. My. God._ ” She may have also lost all the air in her lungs. She can’t breathe. 

“Hello, sorry I’m late.” Mina bows and flashes her signature gummy smile.

“Mina.” Sana had stopped breathing.

Mina walks closer. “You must be Sana-san. Happy birthday.” She presents her a bottle of champagne.

But Sana’s still starstruck so Dahyun quickly moves in to accept the gift. Birthday girl had completely stopped functioning.

Mina smiles. “Thank you, Dahyun-ssi.”

Dahyun internally screams. Her idol remembers her name. “It’s nice to see you again.”

Sana snapped out of her daze and just points to Mina and Dahyun. She still can’t find the words to verbalize the excitement, confusion and embarrassment she’s feeling at the moment.

Mina approached Nayeon who was already grinning at her. _Gosh, that toothy grin_.

“Hi.” She slips her hand into Nayeon's and gives it a tight squeeze. She likes this look of genuine surprise on her face. Maybe she should surprise her more often.

“Hey.” Nayeon frowns. “I thought you have rehearsals.”

“I found a way out of it.”

Sana watched the exchange in front of her in total disbelief. “You’re Nayeon’s girlfriend?! What did you see in this dork?!” she almost screamed. 

Dahyun claps her hand dramatically. “Aaand she’s back.”

***

They’re paired up. Sana and Mina versus Nayeon and Dahyun. Japan versus South Korea. And the birthday girl’s team is winning.

Nayeon watched in awe as Mina swings the bowling ball effortlessly. The way her body moved with precision and ended in a perfect form sent electricity through Nayeon’s spine. _Is this turning me on_?

Strike.

Mina scored for the 4th consecutive time as Sana cheers from the sideline.

“Go Mina-san! Go Mina-san! We Won!”

Nayeon nudges Dahyun who’s now wearing the large party hat. How the younger Korean managed to keep it from sliding off her small head is a mystery.

“Who knew she’s good at bowling?”

“We did.” Dahyun said matter-of-factly.

Nayeon frowned, confused.

The younger Korean realized that her bestfriend doesn’t know much about Mina so she quickly elaborated. “Sana-chan and I knew she’s good in bowling. She’s actually good at any games. They mentioned it on their group’s bios.”

Nayeon watched Sana jumping in celebration with Mina – both Japanese girls still wearing their silly party hats.

Sana skips closer to the Korean girls, Mina following behind. “As punishment, you losers will have to carry the winners on your backs from here to where we parked the car.”

“That’s like two blocks away from here.” Nayeon whines. “Not to mention, stairs.”

“You’re just being lazy.” Dahyun accused Sana. 

“So what if I’m being lazy and I want to be carried? It’s my birthday, isn’t it?"

Mina quietly laughs. This girl is hyperactive. But just like how Nayeon described her, Sana’s extremely entertaining. 

Dahyun throws her hands up in the air and groans in frustration as Nayeon gives Sana death stares. “We’ll have our revenge someday.”

Sana giggled and pinched Nayeon’s cheeks who shoos her away.

Birthday girl turns to Mina. “So, Mina-san, my parents have prepared dinner and my mom makes the best beef stew. I mean, only if you want to join us. I don’t want to impose even if it’s my birthday.”

Nayeon looks at Mina, expecting for her to decline the invitation. 

“Sure, I would love to join you for dinner.” Mina smiles.

“Yes.” Sana squeals and hugs Mina.

Mina lets out a quiet _oops_ but lets the excited girl hug her. 

Sana turns back to her bestfriends. “Now, on your knees losers!”

***

They all watch as Sana opens the gifts from her parents, Dahyun and Nayeon. The birthday girl pulls out a few jars of scented body moisturizer from the box given by Dahyun. 

“Aww Dubu, I thought these were sold out. I even checked the store’s website.” 

“They’re all sold out _now_.” Dahyun sports a smug look on her face. “But I pre-ordered those months ago.” 

Sana pouts, holding back tears because behind all the banters between her and the younger Korean is their unconditional love for each other. 

“Thank you, Dahyunie.” Sana hugs her. 

“Happy birthday, Sana-chan.” The younger Korean melts into the hug. 

A few moments passed and Sana’s putting the jars back in the box. After she’s done, she holds her hand out to Nayeon, signaling the older Korean to hand over her gift. 

Nayeon grins playfully as she waves a white envelope over her head that the birthday girl immediately snatched. 

“Are you finally handing over half of your company to me?” Sana sniffs the envelope. 

“I would if could, but you should talk to my brother about that.” 

Mina looks curiously at Nayeon. The Korean just shrugs it off as they wait for Sana to open the envelope.

Gasp.

Sana stares at the content of the envelope. “Aww, Nayeonnie!” There are actual tears in her eyes.

“What is it dear?” Mrs. Minatozaki, craning her neck to look over her daughter’s shoulders.

Sana holds up an ID card from IM Interiors, LLC with her most recent photo and _SANA MINATOZAKI Position: INTERN_ printed on it.

“Wow!” Dahyun cheers and leans closer to look at Nayeon’s gift. "That's awesome!"

“My brother and I talked about it.” Nayeon leans back on her seat. “You have an internship waiting for you in LA after graduation.”

“I don’t have to go through interviews anymore?”

“I don’t think that’s still necessary when you’re sending emails directly to the CEO everyday.”

Sana holds the ID card to her chest and closes her eyes to stop the tears of joy from falling. “Thank you. Love you, Nabong.”

“Love you, Sana-chan.” Nayeon blows her a kiss. She feels great. She’s surrounded by people that mean so much to her. She looks to her side and sees that Mina was seriously eyeing her.

Mina wonders how deep the Trio’s friendship goes. Well, It’s definitely more than friendship. The look of fondness is always there even as she watched them annoy the hell out of each other. They’re a family and Mina can’t help but compare it to her own relationship with her members.

She reached down to grab Nayeon’s hand and squeezed it as she brings it to rest on her lap. 

Mr. Minatozaki stood up, “Okay. Now who wants some cake?”

Every kid in the room raised their hands.

***

There’s a wall at the Minatozaki restaurant that’s filled with photos and Mina makes sure to get a good look at every single one of them. They seem to be pictures of the owner’s families and friends.

There's a photo of a younger Mr. and Mrs. Minatozaki in their school uniforms. _Aw, they’re childhood sweethearts?_

Then, a photo of them on their wedding day. Followed by one the shows Mrs. Minatozaki throwing cake icing at her husband.

There’s a photo of them holding a baby wrapped in purple blankets.

Then there’s a toddler Sana making faces to the camera.

A large photo of the Trio in their teens. They were all wearing aprons with the Minatozaki’s family restaurant logos printed on them.

“That was the summer I first met Nayeon.”

Mina was a little startled. She didn’t notice Sana had joined her.

Sana smiles at her and nods to the photo. “Dahyunie was in the exchange student program in high school and they were her foster family in America. They came to visit her when school year ended and we spent the summer break working here, for my parents. We were sixteen.”

“Oh.”

“We’ve been friends since then. And even if we lived on opposite sides of the world, we’ve always had each other’s back.” Sana pulls a photo frame off the wall, and wipes some dust off.

“Nayeonnie went through some very tough times. No daughter should have to go through, what she’s gone through. I think that’s why she’s so strong but really she’s still a baby.” Sana faced Mina. “You know what I’m trying to say, right?”

“Hurt my bestfriend and I will kill you?”

“No, I can’t kill you. You’re too pretty. This is more of a if-you-make-my-bestfriend-cry-I-will-unstan-Twice.”

Mina chuckles but she feels intimidated by this Sana.

Sana carefully hangs the photo back on the wall. “I know _idol_ Mina and from what I’ve seen she seems pretty decent. But I don’t know you personally. And Nayeonnie’s the second best person I know. I don’t want her to get hurt.”

“Well, she’s the best person I’ve ever met.” Mina gets it. “And you have every right to not trust me since everything _idol_ Mina does is mostly scripted. But I will do my best to not have you unstan Twice.”

Sana giggles. She thinks it’s really cool that her bestfriend’s dating a celebrity, her Kpop Idol of all people _(insert scream here)_ , but she knows how brutal Korean tabloids are. She and Dahyun would have to protect them, most especially Nayeon.

Speaking of the devil, Nayeon arrives carrying a plastic bag of packed food and looks at Sana accusingly. “Please tell me you’re not scaring her away. I still want her date to me.”

”Come on, let me have this. I’ve been preparing this protective unnie talk for like five years now.”

“Five years?” Mina asked.

Sana nods. “Yeah, well you see Nayeon’s been with a lot of people.”

Nayeon’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Really?! You’re going to sell me out like that?”

Dahyun comes out from the kitchen and drapes an arm on Sana.

“Let me finish.” Sana tells Nayeon before turning back to Mina. “But you’re the first person she’s dated that she ever allowed us to meet in person so you must be special.”

“You make me feel special.” 

They all look at Dahyun who just suddenly started singing.

***

They walk out of the restaurant to wait for the Japanese’s taxi ride back to the dorm. Mina didn’t bother to message Jihyo though she knows her friend wouldn’t mind. She’s just not yet ready for Jihyo to meet Nayeon. Not yet.

Mrs. Minatozaki packed food for Mina to bring home to share with her _family_ – the restaurant owners didn’t know that she’s a celebrity, the Trio didn’t mention anything.

“Thanks for this. I’m sure my members will love it.”

“Well, you know where to get them if they ask for more.”

Nayeon looks ahead, checking if the taxi's coming. “Are you sure you’d be okay? We can drive you to your dorm or somewhere near your dorm? Dahyun’s a great driver.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ve been doing this for a long time now, remember?” Mina pretends to dodge. “I’m like a stealth ninja.”

Nayeon laughs. “Dork.”

Mina giggles and steps closer to hold her hand. “Thanks for inviting me.”

“Thanks for coming.” Nayeon rubs the back of Mina’s hand with her thumb. “You made Sana’s birthday a memorable one. She’s never going to get over the fact that she won a bowling game with _idol_ Mina.”

“Regular person Mina enjoyed everyone’s company today.”

Nayeon flirts, wiggling her eyebrows. “Would you like to get more of mine?”

“I’d like to. But I have an early rehearsal tomorrow and they seem to be waiting for you.” Mina nods sideways at the restaurant’s door where Sana and Dahyun are watching them. They didn’t even bother hiding and even waved to the couple by the gate.

“Hey, promise me not to do that again.”

“Do what?”

“You know, find a way out of rehearsals just cause I kind of asked you to be somewhere else." Shakes her head in disapproval. "You have to do what you have to do. And when you do something, it should be what you wanted and not because other people wanted it for you.” _Huh, what am I talking about?_

“That…" The Japanese frowns. "Was really serious?”

“It’s the champagne talking.” Nayeon brushed it off. “I actually didn’t understand what I just said.” 

Just then a taxi pulls over right outside the gate. Mina breathes out. “Well, that’s my ride. I’ll see you soon?”

“You’ll see me.”

“Should I kiss you?”

“That’s going to give them heart attack.”

Mina shrugs as she leans in to place a soft kiss on Nayeon’s lips, caressing her cheek with her free hand. They hear loud gasps and giggles from their audience and Mina smiles before pulling away.

 _Stop with that adorable gummy smile, I’m melting._ Nayeon watched as Mina fixed her bucket hat and then waved to two people watching them.

She helps close the taxi door after Mina got in and watches it drive away. She turns around to her bestfriends’ screaming and jumping, surprised they were able to hold their fangirl selves for as long as they did.

It’s going to be a long night.

***

Twice members are in a boutique for their costume fitting for Music Bank. Managers and stylists are busy coming up with costume designs that will showcase each member’s best assets without having to reveal too much skin. And as usual, the members entertain themselves while they wait.

Jihyo’s knitting beside Mina who’s busy playing with her switch. “Mina-ya, we’re going to ask for event passes for our families. Do you want to get some for Nayeon too?”

Mina panics a little. “What? Why?”

“I was thinking, since you already met her friends, maybe we could meet her too. And a lot of people will be at MuBank anyway, no one will suspect a thing. But, I mean, if you’re not yet ready –”

“No, of course, I want you to meet her too.”

Mina wanted to keep Nayeon away from her idol life. She's like a breath of fresh air and she just want to keep this to herself for as long as she can. But she has to trust her members. When did they ever disappoint her?

“I’ll tell her.”

“Great. We’ll behave ourselves, I promise. I’m just not sure about Jeongyeonnie.”

They look over to where the other members are and Mina had reasons to worry.

They watch Jeongyeon chase an irritated Tzuyu around with a marker threatening to use it on the younger’s face, while Chaeyoung’s busy distracting their stylist with pieces of extra fabrics.

***

Walking out of the dance studio, Mina hears someone call her. She prays that it’s not their choreographer because she really wants to just get back to the dorm and give her right knee an ice bath. They’ve been rehearsing for their Music Bank performance for up to twelve hours everyday and her joints are starting to complain. 

“Mina-ssi.” Bambam bows at her and Mina does the same.

 _What does he want now?_

“Long hours of rehearsals?”

“Yes. Everything has to be perfect.” Mina smiles politely.

“That’s right. We’ve been here for almost sixteen hours now but we’re kind of used to it.”

Mina just nods. She wants to get out of this awkward conversation.

“Ah, so you know they want us to be pictured together at MuBank, right?”

“Yeah."

“I was thinking maybe we could just be there, like talking, you know. And I can crack up a joke or two and you can pretend that I'm funny. Something like that.“ The boy gives her a light pat on the arm. “What do you think?”

Mina had to back away a little. She doesn’t want him touching her.

“Sunbae-nim.”

Tzuyu suddenly appears and gives Bambam a bow.

“Hi, Tzuyu-ssi.” He bows. “Good luck on you performance. Have a good night to you both.” Winks at the Japanese. “Mina-ssi.”

Bambam leaves and Mina thanks the universe for Tzuyu.

“Everything okay, unnie?”

Mina nods. She’s already anxious about introducing Nayeon to her members and this whole thing with Bambam is adding up to her worries. She should tell her about this too, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I truly believe that Sana and Dahyun fangirl when they're not in front of Mina. Hahahaha  
> I hoped you enjoyed this too.  
> Next chapter would be Nayeon's birthday since Sana's only 6 days older than her in this AU.  
> Thank you \m/


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Nayeon's birthday  
> It's still unbeta-ed.  
> Enjoy :)

Dahyun and Sana have insisted on giving Nayeon a Twice crash course. They ~~forced her~~ suggested to watch music videos, vlogs, and even interviews and TV guestings. They also showed her Twice official social media accounts. 

So, here they are in the living room of the apartment, having pizza while watching Twice TV. 

“Why are we doing this again?” 

“Because you’re dating a Kpop idol so you need to know these things. The names of the other members of her group.” Sana mentality lists things. “Their songs. Their collaborations. Their fandom. Basically how the general public sees her.” 

“I don’t think it should matter to me how other people see her.” 

“Well, it shouldn’t but it would.” Dahyun stated, browsing through Twice TV videos. 

“Nayeon, the Kpop industry is so competitive. It’s a cut-throat world. Behind all those colorful music videos and fun beats and awesome dance steps are all kinds of crazy. Everyone’s out to get everyone else.” Sana warns. “And it’s not just between the artists, sometimes, it’s between the fandoms too.“ 

“You’re making it sound scary.” 

“Because it _can_ be.” Dahyun confirms. “People can get hurt. Physically, emotionally and even mentally. Things can get pretty messy.” 

Nayeon worries. She’s never seen her bestfriends this serious before. _Is this all true?_

“And, then there’s this Korean tabloid called Dispatch who follows celebrities around, you know, like TMZ.” Sana shows her the social media account. “They’re notorious. They're known to expose celebrities’ personal lives and that, sometimes, ruins their careers.” 

“Oh. Really?” 

“Really.” Sana nods. “But I think JYP’s quite good with prioritizing the security of their artists’ personal lives given that Mina hasn’t been outed yet.” 

Dahyun slaps Sana’s knee. “Hey, don’t jinx it.” 

“I'm not. I'm just saying that maybe there’s something that’s already in place.” Sana thinks. “Like an agreement between her and their management to keep her secret a secret.”

“Let’s hope so.” Dahyun finally found the next Twice video to watch. “We just don’t want you to get harassed, Nabong. And we don’t want to go to jail too cause I'm pretty sure we’d be ready to jump on anyone who would come at you.”

Sana leans her head on Dahyun’s shoulders. “Hashtag protect Nayeon.”

“Funny. I'm sure there’s nothing to worry about.“ Nayeon browsed through the photobook Dahyun handed her earlier. “But I'll talk to Mina about it.”

“Speaking of talking to Mina, have you told her about your birthday?” Dahyun asked.

“Why?”

“Because it’s this weekend.”

“So?”

Sana turns to Nayeon and slams the photobook shut. “We’re flying out on your birthday that’s this weekend, and you haven’t told your girlfriend yet?!”

“She might be busy. She has long hours of rehearsals this week and she may want to rest on her free time.” Nayeon sees Sana glaring at her. “What?”

Sana stands up and throws her hands up in the air. “Dubu, talk to your friend. I can’t stand her now.”

“What?” Nayeon asked again, they should be used to this mood swings from the Japanese girl. “Is she PMS-ing?”

Dahyun shrugged but she obviously agrees with Sana, so the older Korean just sinks back into the couch.

***

The Minatozaki family restaurant offers the best inspiration for the traditional minimalist concept that Nayeon’s working on for her portfolio. Lately, she’s finding herself admiring Japanese interiors and designs and it’s a great distraction because;

1.) She can’t forget the conversation she had with her bestfriends about possible consequences if words got out about Mina’s dating. She wants to ask the Japanese about it but she also doesn’t want to bring something up to that may not even be an issue in the first place. She should trust that the Japanese would’ve already mentioned something it it’s going to affect them. _Right?_

2.) It’s already Friday and she still hasn’t told Mina about her weekend plans. What’s stopping her? It’s the fact that birthdays are special to her and she’s always celebrated them with her brother and bestfriends – either physically or virtually. Nayeon’s scared that if Mina’s added to the mix, then she’d want for her to also be part of the celebration every year and it’s too soon to expect this type of commitment from the Japanese girl. 

Nayeon just doesn’t want to put any pressure on the girl.

Mr. Minatozaki arrives, bringing her a cup of tea and winks at her before leaving. She goes back to the project she’s working on when she feels someone taking the seat in front of her.

 _This is my corner._ She was about to tell the person off but –

“Jinyoung?!”

Jinyoung smiles and gives her a small wave.

She gets up hug her brother. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I needed to make sure you’re not wreaking too much havoc here. And I kind of want to join the weekend birthday party that I paid for.”

“Thank you for not touching my trust funds this time.” She laughs.

“Right.”

“When did you arrive? Do you want to stay at the apartment? I'm sure you’d fit on the couch.”

“No, thank you. I'm staying at a hotel near the airport.” Jinyoung looks her up and down. “You look good. I mean, you look okay before but you look really good. I see Korea’s treating you well.”

“It’s the Korean tea.”

“I thought it’d be a Korean girl.”

“She’s not Korean.”

“Ah-ha! So there _is_ a girl.”

Nayeon laughs.

“Come on. Bring me to that fabric store you love so much. Let’s close this deal then we’ll talk more about your non Korean girl.”

***

“Thank you very much for choosing our product. We will email you the moment we get your orders ready for shipping.” Mr. Lee offers a hand shake.

“That’s perfect. I can tell this is going to be a wonderful partnership.” Jinyoung shakes his hand.

Nayeon was just waiting for the two businessmen to finish their talk when a black SUV pulls over near the store. A man got off the passenger seat to open the backseat door and a girl hops off. Nayeon glanced at the two newcomers walking towards the store and she recognized one of them – _Mina_. 

Rehearsal and costume fittings have been taking up all of Mina’s time so it’s been a couple of days now since they last saw each other. She terribly missed the college girl, but she didn’t expect to see Nayeon there. She bows to the store manager who knows her since they’ve been going to this place since trainee days. 

“Hello. Good afternoon.” Mr. Lee bows to their customers.

The black little dress Mina’s wearing under her large coat caught Nayeon’s eyes and the Japanese’s high ponytail is sending unnecessary shivers down her spine. She was about to take a step forward when she sees panic in Mina eyes.

Mina discreetly shakes her head. _Don’t._

And Nayeon understood when Mina looked at the man she arrived with. _Right_. That must be a manager or something, she remembers the lessons Dahyun and Sana gave her about Kpop entourage.

“Let’s go.” Jinyoung nudges his sister. “I got us dinner reservations.”

The Japanese ballerina watched the unfamiliar man put an arm around Nayeon’s shoulders and was surprised when the college girl leaned in and wrapped her arms around the taller man’s body as they walk away. She feels her chest tightens. _Am I jealous_? _Is this what jealousy feels like?_ But more importantly, _who’s that man?_

***

**_@Sanatozaki_ **

_Kids these days. And then there’s me._

Sana posted a photo of her crew on her online profile. The photo shows Sana and Dahyun on one side of the booth while the siblings are on the other side and they all grin towards the camera.

“I don’t know, oppa." Dahyun’s studying the business card the older Im handed her. “I haven’t thought about it yet.”

“There’s no rush. You still have two years of college to finish anyway.” Jinyoung, fixing his perfectly coiffed hair. “Just let me know when you want to try out with them and I can set up a meeting.”

“Thank you, oppa.”

“And thank you for the internship.” Sana shyly smiles.

Nayeon felt her phone buzzed and smiled when she saw who the text message was from.

**Evil Person**

Have you had dinner?

**College G**

Almost done now.

You?

**Evil Person**

Just about to.

I saw Sana’s post online.

**College G**

Why do you even check on her account?

It’s just full of her selfies.

**Evil Person**

Well, unlike yours that only shows interior designs,

She actually posts photos of all of you. 

**College G**

I'm a private person.

I don’t need to post my face out there.

**Evil Person**

OK.

I see there’s a new addition to your gang.

**College G**

Yeah, that’s my brother.

He flew in today.

He was with me at the fabric store.

**Evil Person**

About that, I'm sorry.

My manager was with me.

He told me Dispatch was there

I need to be careful.

**College G**

Don’t worry about it.

Jinyoung nudged Nayeon and she saw everyone’s starting to get up. _Oh, we’re leaving already._

**College G**

Hey, we have to go.

Enjoy your dinner, beautiful.

Now, Mina feels stupid for being jealous. She looks at the online post again – Nayeon has her head resting on her brother’s shoulders. She lets out a frustrated sighs before putting her phone away. She has to control herself. She’s getting a little possessive of this college girl already and it’s not good because it’s too soon. She has bigger things to worry about right now – that being the fake dating thing that she hasn’t even told Nayeon yet. _Ah, what do I do?_

***

Jinyoung and the Trio have flown to Jeju Island for Nayeon’s birthday weekend where the older Im rented half of the resort – he would always go all out for his baby sister. “They said you’ve been eyeing this place for quite a while now.” He nods to the bickering duo inside the resort villa.

Sana and Dahyun are currently fighting over who gets to stay in which room while the brother and sister are in the balcony, leaning on railings, breathing fresh ocean air.

“I can see why. This place looks awesome.”

“It’s beautiful. Thank you setting this all up.”

“We promised to keep family traditions alive, right?” He rolls up his sleeves and shows the three star tattoos on his wrist, same place where Nayeon has hers.

She does the same with her sleeves and brings her right wrist close to her brother’s.

The two larger stars represent their parents. The smaller one on Nayeon’s wrist is her brother. Jinyoung has the smaller star on his wrist colored in purple.

“See, we’re all here.” Jinyoung nudged her. 

Nayeon looks up to the tall man beside her. She’s lucky to have the best brother in the world.

“It would also be nice to meet your non Korean girl. Sana told me she’s Japanese.”

“What else did she tell you?”

Jinyoung said. “She said they’ve never seen you this _smitten_ with anyone before.”

“Smitten?”

“I'm a serious business man. I like using serious words.” Jinyoung is just as dorky as Nayeon. “And seriously, I would love to meet this girl.”

Nayeon was going to tell Mina about the getaway but that encounter at the fabric store where the Japanese had to pretend they didn’t know each other made her reconsider.

“She’s busy.”

Jinyoung just looks at his sister. He knows when to push for more information and this is not one of those times.

Dahyun comes out and joins the siblings at the balcony. “Hey, you ready to check out the local pubs? Evening market food trip?”

“I'm ready. Where’s Sana-chan?” Nayeon, fixing her sleeves.

“She’s taking a shower. Let’s go.”

“So, we’re just going to leave her here?” Jinyoung frowns in confusion as Nayeon and Dahyun walk out of the villa.

They didn’t leave Sana. They did, however, lock her out of the car for a good ten minutes before letting her in.

Jinyoung has to deal with these kids for two days. This should be interesting.

***

Nayeon wakes up to the noises coming from outside of her bedroom suite. She can hear someone struggling to open the door. She looks at the digital clock on the bedside table and it reads 9:22 AM. They got back to the villa from a pub crawl at around three in the morning and she’s still really sleepy.

Finally, the door opens with Sana, Dahyun and Jinyoung entering the room while singing the birthday song.

“Happy birthday to you.”Dahyun goes to put a party hat on Nayeon’s head. “Happy birthday to you.”

Sana sways with a couple of birthday balloons. “Happy birthday, dear Nayeonnie.”

_Happy birthday to you._

Jinyoung’s carrying a small cake. He leans down on the bed to have Nayeon blow the candle. “Make a wish.”

“I wish to get more sleep.” Nayeon lazily blows the candles.

“So, I know we promised no birthday gifts, right?” Sana grins. “How about a birthday brunch?”

Nayeon doesn’t like the way her bestfriends are giggling. _What did they do now?_

***

Nayeon enters the dining room still wearing the party hat. She wonders how early the others woke up because they’re already dressed up. She, on the other hand, just put the bath robe on top of her PJs and didn’t bother changing yet. She just wants to get this birthday brunch over with so she can take a nap before their planned afternoon activity.

She turns the corner and stops dead in her tracks.

“Happy birthday.”

There, standing a few feet away, is Mina holding a bouquet of flowers and smiling brightly at her. _Am I dreaming or is she really here?_

Sana noticed how Nayeon had frozen in her place so she gave her a little push which worked.

Nayeon snapped out of her daze and walked towards Mina, accepting the flowers. “Thank you. How did you get here?”

“Dahyun and Sana messaged me and your brother flew me out here.” Mina winks at her. “Private jet. I'm impressed.”

Nayeon looks over to her bestfriends who are now taking their seats on the table with her brother. They give her two thumbs up.

“Why didn’t you tell me it’s your birthday?”

“You said you’d be busy with rehearsals and – oh, no, please tell me you didn’t sneak out of rehearsals.”

“We didn’t have anything scheduled today and I was actually going to see you. Good thing I got their message before I left the dorm.”

Nayeon’s cute little party hat on top of her tousled hair, bloodshot eyes and that bunny smile are making Mina’s heart beat so fast can’t keep up with it.

“Are you surprised?”

“I am.”

Jinyoung watched the giggling couple. Staying up all night, communicating with the private jet operator and his private security, making sure of Mina’s safe arrival to the villa is definitely worth seeing the way Nayeon’s beaming with genuine happiness. Sometimes he loves being a CEO.

***

They spent the afternoon at a handicraft workshop, making their own customized wooden clock – something that Nayeon looked forward to on this trip. It was fun until Sana almost hammered her fingers on the wooden plank and they had to let her sit that one out.

After an eventful afternoon, they decided to cap the night off at a karaoke bar. It’s a small karaoke booth but they serve the best Okinawa beer and that’s all that matters to the birthday girl.

Dahyun’s already singing her heart out while Sana and Nayeon play with the maracas, dancing around each other. Jinyoung enters the booth with a bottle of wine and walks to Mina, watching the Trio’s stage antics.

“Thank you for flying me out here.” Mina politely smiles at the older Im.

“I know my sister would like you to be here too.”

A classic Michael Jackson song begins to play and they hear Dahyun call out. “Oppa, this is your song!”

Nayeon points out. “That’s our parent’s wedding song!”

“Oh, why don’t you sing it together?” Sana excitedly suggested. “Come on, it’s been forever since we last heard you two sing.”

“No.”

“Nayeonnie, let’s go. I miss singing this one with you too.” Jinyoung drags her in front of the karaoke TV.

 _This should be interesting._ Mina raised her glass in salute when the birthday girl looked at her.

The song starts and Jinyoung sings the first verse perfectly. How many times have they sung this song already?

_Each time the wind blows, I hear your voice so_

_I call your name_

_Whispers at morning, our love is dawning_

_Heaven's glad you came_

Her bestfriends cheer while Nayeon shakes her head at her brother singing to her. She’s so glad to see Jinyoung loosening up. She knows how hard her brother works, so this trip is great breather for him too.

_You know how I feel, this thing can't go wrong_

_I'm so proud to say I love you_

_Your love's got me high, I long to get by_

_This time is forever, love is the answer_

Jinyoung makes an exaggerated twirl before passing the mic to Nayeon and pushed her to the center stage.

_I hear your voice now, you are my choice now_

_The love you bring_

_Heaven's in my heart, at your call I hear harps,_

_And angels sing_

Okay, Mina did not expect that at all. Surprised is an understatement, she is amazed. Who knew this girl can sing?

_You know how I feel, this thing can't go wrong_

_I can't live my life without you_

_I just can't hold on, I feel we belong_

_My life ain't worth living, if I can't be with you_

The brother and sister laugh at each other, remembering their younger years when they used to perform this song at their parent’s anniversary parties.

_I just can't stop loving you_

_I just can't stop loving you_

_And if I stop_

_Then tell me just what will I do_

_'Cause I just can't stop loving you_

Mina, Sana and Dahyun give a standing ovation to the Im siblings. 

The birthday girl's all choked up. She looks at Jinyoung who smiles so sweetly at her. Her brother looks so much like their father – the way he towers over her. She looks at her best friends. She looks at Mina. And it’s her birthday. _This is overwhelming._ Can she still stop the tears? Or is it too late?

Yes, it is too late. Jinyoung engulfs Nayeon into a bear hug and she just lets go and cries into her brother’s embrace. Dahyun was the first to get up to join the hug, followed by Sana.

The karaoke music is still playing in the background and Mina allowed the group to have their moment. This is a very tight group and Mina wonders if she’d be able fit into their world.

***

After coming back from Karaoke, Dahyun and Sana decided to make pancakes for their midnight snacks while Jinyoung watched over the tipsy duo, making sure they don’t set the entire kitchen on fire.

Nayeon went to sit on one of the lounges near the beach area. She’s wrapped herself in a blanket, with eyes closed, feeling the evening breeze hit her face.

“There you are. I went to the restroom for five minutes and you disappear.”

“Well, you found me.”

"I found you." Mina moved to carefully pull Nayeon’s blanket off. “Big spoon?”

The birthday girl nods and Mina carefully gets on the lounge and settles behind Nayeon. The Japanese girl waits for the Nayeon to adjust in her seat and get comfortable before pulling her closer and wrapping the blanket around them.

“Did you have fun today?” Nayeon lets her head rest on the crook of Mina’s neck.

“I did. And I should be the one asking you that, birthday girl. Did you enjoy your day?”

“Of course. I’m with the most important people in my life. Couldn’t ask for a better birthday celebration.”

“I want to be a part of celebrations like this.” Mina said quietly. “You know, important events of your life.”

Nayeon turns to her side and looks straight into Mina’s eyes. Is this girl asking to be a permanent part of her life? It’s too soon.

“Okay.” Nayeon puts her arms over the blanket to hold Mina’s free hand.

Mina notices the wrist tattoo peeking out of her sleeves and nods at it. “Did it hurt?”

“Yes. A lot, but then you kind of get used to the pain. I mean, if I can survive losing my parents, I can handle a few needles on my skin.”

“Hey, don’t joke about it.”

“I don’t. Jinyoung said it’s like a weird way of me coping.”

Nayeon looks back up at the sky. It’s a clear sky and there are a lot of stars out tonight.

“My mama loves the stars. She said they guided the ancient people like a map so they won’t get lost. Even if it’s really dark, they’d find their way because of the stars. And she was like that to us, like a guiding star, she always made sure we never get lost. Me, Jinyoung, Pops, we’ve always looked up to her. So imagine how lost I was when she died.”

Mina intended to talk to her about the whole fake dating thing but now’s not the right time. Not when Nayeon looks so vulnerable sharing this very intimate part of her life. She didn’t know what to say but she definitely didn’t want her to stop.

Nayeon pulls back a little so she can look at Mina. ”Your moles are like stars too.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I can connect them and make a constellation and they’d point to where you need to be.”

Nayeon reaches out to softly trace the moles on Mina’s face. From the forehead, the bridge of her nose, the one above the lip, the one below it and the one on her chin.

Mina holds her breath. “And where’s that?”

“Here.” Nayeon gently runs a thumb on Mina’s lower lip and looks straight into her eyes before pulling her into a soft kiss.

Mina’s head is spinning. It could be the alcohol but it’s most likely because this girl is driving her crazy. The kiss lasted for a few minutes before she pulls back.

“Happy birthday, Nayeon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was thinking that this trip would give Mina a chance to formally meet Nayeon's brother and the song was a last minute addition. I wanted to try something with it, I hope it worked.  
> Im also hoping those sweet little kisses makes you go uwu :)  
> This was mostly a Nayeon chapter, next one should be Mina's  
>   
> There may be some light angst in the next chapter.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still unbeta-ed and this was written in a rush because More&More dance break broke me.  
> Please forgive my errors.  
> Enjoy :)

Music Bank’s a few days away and Twice decided to check the festival venue out. They want to make sure that the stage is secured. They don’t want to have to deal with any stage accidents this time.

“I still can’t believe it, unnie.” Chaeyoung said. “I know we already had our mini city tour and we’ve been on many stages but it still feels like it’s our first time. Like I'm still afraid I'm going to forget my lines.”

“I know what you mean. I'm scared of forgetting the choreo. Especially with that cover.”

“Main dancer Mina messing up the choreo? Nah, that’s never going to happen.” 

Mina laughs. “Well, let’s hope there are no moving stages this time.”

“But those are cool.” Chaeyoung pouts. “Anyway, we’re masters of adlibs. We can handle it.“

“Right, but that’s just you and Tzuyu.”

“Follow our lead then.”

They enter the backstage area where other idol are discussing blockings with the stage directors and saw GOT7 members.

Bambam, who had already seen them, calls out. “Hey. Good afternoon.”

“Bam-man.” Chaeyoung bows. Mina thinks it’s too early to be irritated.

“I heard you’re going to do a cover for your special stage. Any spoilers?” Bambam jokes.

“It’s a surprise.“ Chaeyoung shakes her head. “You’re going to have to wait”.

“We’ll all look forward to it then.” Bambam reaches to lightly touch Mina’s forearm then withdraws his hand rather quickly.

Mina frowns. _What is this boy doing?_ Then Bambam nods at something behind her. Carefully, she turns around to look and sees a group of photographers with IDs that clearly shows Dispatch.

“They’ve been here for almost three hours now.” Bambam said in a low voice.

“Are they seriously waiting for anyone to do something weird so they’ll have content?”

“That’s kind of their job. And our job is to follow what the company wants us to do.”

“Our thing is to start _after_ the festival, right?”

Bambam shrugs. “Then we might as well start warming to each other.”

Mina rolled her eyes. _This is not the right place_ , she reminds herself. Chaeyoung must’ve seen it because the younger member drapes an arm on her shoulder.

“We better get going. Jihyo unnie’s waiting for us.” Chaeyoung waves at the boy. “See you, Bam-man.”

Chaeyoung kept her arms around Mina as they walk away. “What was that?”

“I don’t know, Chaeyoungie but I hate this set up. I hate it even more that it was with him.”

***

The Trio decided to have a night in to finish a few papers and projects for uni. The two older (in months) girls are working on their laptops on the dining table while Dahyun prepares their dinner. Funny how it’s the youngest of the three who takes interest in cooking when Sana’s the daughter of a great Japanese chef.

Dahyun takes a spoonful of the stew she is cooking, blows off the heat and goes to Sana. “How’s this?”

The bubbly Japanese opens her mouth without looking away from her laptop screen. She closes her eyes to get a full taste before smiling. “That’s better. Oh add a little more chili paste. Nabong likes it spicy.”

Nayeon looks at them. They look very domesticated and she finds it funny. She grins before cutely resting her chin on both hands. “I just love family night with my two moms.”

“I don’t care that you helped me get your brother to speak at the university before he left. But if you say that one more time I'm going to pour all that spicy stew on your laptop.” Sana said, still focused on her laptop while Dahyun laughs.

It’s always fun teasing Sana, she becomes a rapper with the way she spits out words.

Nayeon smirks and returns to her school work when an email pops up. She frowns. “What’s Music Bank?”

“Huh?”

“Music Bank World Tour?" Nayeon reads out loud.

“It’s a Korean music festival. Like uh…” Sana thinks. “Like Billboards music awards without the actual awards. Almost all Kpop groups will be performing. Dubu’s going be working there, right?”

“Yeah. Every year they open slots to volunteer for production staff.” Dahyun explains. “If that’s the only way I get to see my idols, I’d take it.”

“Hmm.” Nayeon’s still frowning as she reads the email she got.

Sana finally looks at her. “Why’d you ask?”

“Mina sent me an invitation.” Nayeon turns her laptop to show them the email. “With backstage passes.”

Dahyun runs to Sana’s side to also read the email.

“Why?” Sana’s still reading at the email. “Why do good things happen to you?”

“Because I'm a nice person.”

“You’re never nice.”

“I _am_ a nice person. I’ll prove it to you by taking my two lame bestfriends to that music show.”

Dahyun’s hopeful. “Yeah?”

“She said I can bring both of you.” Nayeon waves her phone to them. She just messaged Mina about the email and the KPop idol replied with an _‘Of course’._

“Ahh!” Sana squeals. “I'm so lucky to be your bestfriend! Too bad Dubu will be working that day. We’ll miss you.”

“Ah fuck that.” Dahyun throws a tantrum, lazily goes back to cooking their dinner and adds more chili paste to the stew.

***

Twice’s nails and hair salon visits are scheduled at different days so there would always be some members that will be in training and rehearsals. And it’s Mina’s turn today. She walks in the basement parking with her manager when he suddenly turns to the left.

That confuses Mina. “Oppa?” Their parking space is in the right side of the basement.

“We’ll go this way.”

Mina frowns but follows. They approach a car with two guys leaning on it, that’s when it dawned on her.

“Looks like I’ll be taking you to the salon today.” Bambam smiles.

Mina is about to say something when her manager speaks up.

“He’s just going to drive us to the salon.” The manager seemed to have read her mind. “You didn’t even have to be sitting beside each other. They just want a photo of you getting out of his car and waving goodbye. That’s it.”

“I thought we agreed to do this after the festival.”

“PD-nim thought that it should start sooner so it wouldn’t seem rushed.”

Bambam walks over to the driver side. Mina hates that smile on his face before he got into the car. She immediately hops on the backseat, puts on her air pods and drowns herself in loud music. She kept her gaze outside the window the entire ride.

This is about to blow up and she needs to prepare herself for the impact. And oh shit, she hasn’t told Nayeon yet.

***

The dorm’s quiet at 11 PM as usual, with all members in their own room, either already sleeping or binge watching whatever popular series is out. Mina drops her bag on the floor before dropping herself on the couch. Her manager had dropped her off after getting her nails done. She’s thankful that she didn’t have to spend another car ride with Bambam.

She knows that the situation she’s in is not his fault. He’s also just another puppet that the agency’s playing with but he’s getting on her nerves.

Then she hears footsteps coming down the stairs. 

“Hey, you just got back?”

Twisting her neck to look back, she sees Jihyo. “Yeah. It took a little longer to with the nail art.”

“Let me see.” Jihyo grabs Mina’s hand to look at her newly painted nails. “This color suits you. I like it.”

Mina smile and gives Jihyo’s have a gentle squeeze. “What’s wrong? You don’t bring food to bed unless you’re stressed out.” She nods at the little plate her leader’s holding.

She pats the space on the couch and leads Jihyo to sit beside her.

Jihyo sighs before pulling out her phone, handing it to Mina. “Yongjin oppa sent me the photos they would release.“

Mina studies the photo of Jihyo and Kang Daniel together. It was taken during their visit at the music festival venue. It really looks like they were having a good time together with the way Jihyo’s head fell back with laughter.

Jihyo leans over and swipes on the screen to show Mina the next photo. “He sent me yours too.”

It’s a photo from earlier. It shows Mina getting off the car.

Swipe.

The window was rolled down and Bambam’s face is clearly visible even though he was wearing a trucker cap. He was smiling. If Mina doesn’t feel annoyance towards him, she’d actually think he’s cute.

Swipe.

The last photo shows Mina waving back to him as she walks towards the salon. Oh right, the afternoon sun was too bright and she scrunched her face making it look that she was smiling.

“Damn. They have talented photographers huh? We actually look like we're friends in these photos.” Mina returned the phone to Jihyo who had sunk into the couch. “What are we going to do?”

“We just have to suck it up. It’s just going to be for a few months.”

Mina put a hand behind her neck to massage the muscle there. Maybe she should’ve gone to the masseuse too.

“Have you told Nayeon about this?”

“No.” Mina sighs heavily. “I figured this is not something I could just text her. And we’ve been so busy these past few days, I didn’t have time to see her.”

“But we’ll see her tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah. I’ll tell her tomorrow.”

***

Nayeon watched as a group of boys wearing shirts that say ‘Production Staff’ ran past her towards the concert hall. She sits by the hallway while she waits for Sana, who’s currently looking for a parking space, and Dahyun, who’s talking to the Staff manager.

She had spoken with Mina earlier and was instructed to wait by their dressing room while the girls run a tech rehearsal. She can hear loud music from inside the arena and she thinks the music sounds familiar. _That could be them singing._ And by force of habit, she started studying the arena’s interiors to kill time.

Just then, an older Korean man walks out of one of the rooms and stops a few feet away from her. The man, who’s wearing a shirt that says JYP, bowed before sitting beside her.

“Hello. Are you a part of the staff?” The old man smiles at her.

“Ah, no. I’m… just here.” _Is this man scrutinizing me?_

“Do you want to be on TV?”

 _What?_ Nayeon looks at the man suspiciously.

“I work for a talent agency.” The man chuckles and hands her a business card. “I think you have potentials to be a big star. Your looks are going to sell TV series and magazines. If you can sing and dance too there’ll be more options for you.“

“Oh, no. Thank you, but I'm not interested.” Nayeon reads the calling card that says ‘Park Jin Young, JYP Entertainment’. _Funny, same name as my own brother._

“Well, think about it.” The man just smiled at her before standing up to leave. “And then you can contact me.”

Nayeon was still watching the man walk away when she felt another person sits beside her _. I swear to god, if this is another talent agent –_

“Oh my god, you were talking to JYP.” Sana looks completely shocked with what she’d witnessed.

“Who?”

“JYP. That was JYP. He owns JYP Entertainment. You know, that company that created Twice. He’s basically their boss.”

Ah, finally Nayeon understands what Sana was telling her.

“What did he say to you?”

Nayeon hands the business card to her. “He said I could be on TV.”

“What?! Let me guess, you said _no thank you_ , didn’t you?”

She shrugs and she hears Sana groans dramatically. Sana knows Nayeon is the type of person that enjoys watching from the sidelines, watching other’s success, but still, it was an opportunity that JYP offered her.

“Why did you let the opportunity pass? What’s wrong with you?!” Sana slaps her bestfriend’s shoulder. “Anyway, what do you think of all this, Nayeonnie?”

“Too much. It’s a little embarrassing cause everyone’s looking at me funny. Like I'm supposed to recognize them, but I don’t.”

Sana chuckles. “You know that you should get used to this kind of set up, right?” She whispers. ”I mean, if you’re going to be with _her._ She’s going to be in the spotlight all the time and everyone’s going to be watching. Are you ready for that?”

 _Am I_? Nayeon sighs at that thought. The reality that Mina’s a celebrity hasn’t really sunk in, but Sana’s right. And there are things that would have to change if she’s to get used to this. She starts to mentally list the things that could change but lost count when she looks ahead and sees Mina walking back from stage rehearsal with her group.

She can feel Sana's entire body begins to vibrate with excitement. But nothing compares to the vibration of her heart when Mina looked at her with that gummy smile she’s fallen for.

Wait? Fallen? What?

***

**Evil Person**

Dressing room

After our performance.

**College G**

OK.

Nayeon slips her phone back to her pocket and refocuses her attention back to Sana and Dahyun. They’re telling her the name of the group that’s currently performing on stage and the song title they’re singing. The Trio was able to secure their seats on the upper level with unrestricted view of the stage.

It’s her first time to see and-or attend a Korean music festival and she’s not going to lie, the show’s very entertaining. She’s amazed – synchronized dancing, great singing and not to mention the unbelievable beauty of every boy and girl that are performing. It’s like these idols were created perfectly to bring smiles in everyone’s faces.

When Twice was introduced, Dahyun handed her with a light stick and asked her to wave it while the girls perform. _Candy bong,_ that’s what she called it. Nayeon looks around the arena and saw a lot of candy bongs and hears people screaming each member’s name.

She can hear people screaming Mina’s name very loudly.

Oh, wait a minute, that was Dahyun. Sana was also singing her heart out.

She looks back to the stage. Thank goodness she brought her glasses so she’s able to clearly watch Mina in her element. High pony, black crop top, short shorts and black boots. Mina oozed with so much confidence on stage and she beams with pride that this girl is hers. 

***

Mina had to fight the urge to run to Nayeon when she sees her sitting outside of the dressing room. She had to remind herself that they’re out in the public with Dispatch photographers everywhere. She can’t be caught. But she hasn’t seen Nayeon for a few days and the way this college girl’s tight jeans accentuates the curves of her body is just so inviting.

Nayeon bows to the members as they pass by her to enter the dressing room.

Finally, a few feet away from Nayeon, Mina noticed the candy bong. “You came prepared.”

“Yeah, Dahyun has more in her bag if you want one.”

Mina chuckles, sitting beside her. “What did you think of our performance?”

“Well, I didn’t really know the song but you guys are really good. And you… “ She whispers. “You were so hot.” Nayeon mentally pats herself on the back for making the Japanese blush.

They look like a couple of giggling teenagers. Maybe that’s why a manager approached and whispered something to Mina.

“Hey, so we just have one more performance and then we’re leaving. There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Okay.”

Mina squeezes Nayeon’s hand in a very subtle way and then walks away, following her manager inside. Nayeon finally noticed some photographers nearby. _Ah, right._ She knows Mina’s manager was just looking after the Kpop idol. But why is he staring at her, almost glaring? Did she do something?

***

“Nayeon unnie?”

 _Oh, okay what’s her name again_ , Nayeon thinks. “Chaeyoung?”

Chaeyoung grins. “Yup. That’s my name.”

“I'm sorry I'm not good with names.” Nayeon picks up a bowl of mixed fruits.

“It’s okay. Most people call me strawberry princess anyway.” She smiles, showing her dimple. “Try these sandwiches, unnie. These are really good.”

Nayeon looks at what the Kpop Idol is pointing at and decides to trust her. “Cool. Thanks.”

The girls just finished their final performance and they’re basically just chilling and changing into regular clothes, getting ready to leave. While waiting, Nayeon decided to check out the snack bar. Dahyun said it’s the best part of any music festival – trust the person who will work at any event in exchange of food.

“And thank you for inviting me and my friends. You girls were awesome.”

“Thank you. I hope you enjoyed the show. Actually, we’ve been wanting to meet you for a while now. Mina unnie had been keeping you from us.” It’s true. Nayeon and Mina had been seeing each other for almost two months already.

Speaking of Mina, she checks her phone for any messages from the Japanese. _She said we need to talk._ No new messages.

The girls are still checking the snacks on the table when a boy with perfectly coiffed hair joins them. “Excuse me, ladies.”

“Hey, oppa.” Chaeyoung introduces them. “Nayeon unnie, this is Jackon oppa. Oppa, this is our friend, Nayeon unnie.” The boy called Jackson bows and Nayeon returns the courtesy.

“Hi, nice to meet you.” She’s bowed way too many times tonight.

“The pleasure’s all mine to be in the presence of such a beautiful lady like you.”

Chaeyoung almost chokes on the strawberry cake she’s eating, while Nayeon struggles to keep a poker face.

Jackson smirks. “So, my group has an after party exclusive for friends. And Twice’s friends are also considered our friends. I’d like to extend the invite to you.”

“Oh. Ah, thank you but –“

Chaeyoung jumps in. “But we’re going out tonight oppa, so maybe next time.”

“Are you sure? I can talk to Jihyo if you want.” The boy offered.

“Talk to me about what?”

They look behind to see Twice leader walking towards them to get her own snacks.

“Jihyo-ssi, I just thought I’d invite you and your beautiful friend here to our after party. It’ll be fun. Just a few close friends.”

“That’s sweet, oppa, but we have our own night planned out already.” Jihyo polite declined the invitation, still checking out at the snacks.

“Come on, maybe you girls could just drop. Mina’s going with Bambam anyway.”

Jihyo whips her head a little too fast. “What?” Did she hear him right? She turns to see a surprised Chaeyoung and a confused Nayeon.

“Yeah, you know, boyfriend-girlfriend duties.” He said in a low voice. “The managers are already talking about ways to get them out without Dispatch seeing them. But really, we know they want them to see the lovely new couple.”

“Oh, okay.” Jihyo’s now mortified. She’s not sure if Nayeon already knows about the _thing_ but she needs to find Mina.

Jackson steps a little closer. “Nayeon-ssi, just let me know if you change your mind, alright?” He winks before walking away.

Chaeyoung cringes. “Well, that was gross. He was hitting on you.”

Nayeon had already spaced out.

“Nayeon-ssi.” Jihyo puts a hand on Nayeon’s arms to get her attention. “Let me talk to Mina, okay?"

“Okay.”

***

**Best Girl Sana**

Nabong

We’re going to twice dinner party.

Where are you?

*

**Korean Bruh**

You’re prolly with MN now.

CY gave me the resto’s address.

We’ll see you there.

*

**Evil Person**

Hey, we’re leaving.

I’ll see you at the restaurant?

*

**Evil Person**

Where are you?

Sana and Dahyun are with us.

*

**Evil Person**

Nayeon?

*

**Evil Person**

Missed calls (11)

***

Mina looks at her phone again while navigating through the crowded restaurant their managers reserved for late night dinner. Jihyo had told her about the incident with Jackson earlier and she’s worried. She knows it’s her fault. She should’ve already told Nayeon about it. And Chaeyoung told her about the boy hitting on her girl too so now Mina’s worried _and_ irritated.

She finally sees Sana and Dahyun hanging out with Tzuyu and Jeongyeon at the corner table. “Where’s Nayeon?”

“She’s not here?” Sana looks around. “We thought she’d be with you.”

“No, I haven’t seen her since we left the arena. And she’s not answering my calls.”

Mina takes the seat beside Jeongyeon who immediately side hugs her. “Mina-chan, did something happen?”

“Chaeng said she might’ve heard something about that _thing_.” Mina groans.

“Oh, no.” Tzuyu looks worried.

Sana and Dahyun look at each other, curious. They have no idea what their idols are talking about but they know that this not the first time Nayeon pulled something like this. Their bestfriend tends to isolate herself whenever something stresses her out – saying it helps her calm her nerves and clear her mind.

Dahyun pulls out her phone and dials Nayeon's number.

One ring.

Two.

Three. And just like clockwork, Nayeon picks up the other line. 

_LA Girl: "Hey."_

_"Hey, where’d you go?"_

_LA Girl: "I just needed to get some air."_

_"Are you okay though?"_

_LA Girl: "Yeah. Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’ll see you later, okay?"_

_"Okay."_

And then the other line disconnects. Dahyun sees the curious look that everyone is giving her. Except for Sana. 

Sana’s busy texting Nayeon even though she knows there is a possibility she won't get a response – she knows Nayeon would rather be alone now.

“Where is she?” Mina asked.

“She just needs to be alone for a while. Just give her time to process whatever it is that she needs to process.” Dahyun said.

Mina sinks back into her seat. Dahyun knows Nayeon better just like how Jeongyeon knows that a bowl of fresh poke is one way to temporarily get Mina’s mind off things. She checks her phone again and sends the last message for tonight.

**Evil Person**

I'm sorry.

***

Nayeon walks into her dark and quiet apartment. Her phone died while she was out – too many phone calls and text messages drained the battery.

A lot of people say it’s not good to go to bed angry and it’s better to talk things out as soon as an issue arises. But her Pops taught her that a heated argument can travel to strange dark places where unnecessary words can cause even more damage. That’s why she tends to separate herself from stressful situations to cool her head.

She lazily walks up to the loft but stops at the door when she sees a figure sleeping on her bed. She doesn’t even need to open the lights to know that it’s Mina and considers joining her. _She looks so peaceful._

But she’s still upset that Mina didn’t tell her anything about whatever that Bambam thing was.

So she carefully closes the door and starts to climb downstairs. The couch is not as comfortable as her bed but it will definitely give her that much needed rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PSA. Im really just doing this AU for my own happiness lols and I want to thank everyone who's following this story, sharing this minayeon journey with me.  
> THANK YOU. THANK YOU.
> 
> Sooooo, Nayeon's first Kpop experience. Yay!  
> What do you think?  
> And I know some of you are wondering about Momo so, tada! she'll be in next chapter.  
> Any guesses on how she'll fit in the story?


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still unbeta-ed  
> :)  
> Enjoy

Nayeon didn’t really get much sleep. She woke up a few of times during the night, just tossing and turning trying to find the most comfortable position on the couch. So when she opened her eyes for the 5th time and noticed the orange ray of sunlight inside the apartment, she decided to just get up.

That’s when she started feeling a little sore.

Something heavy is on top of her thigh and when she tries to roll to her side. She hears a low groan behind her.

Mina had joined her and is currently spooning her. She carefully turns her body to face the Japanese without pushing her off the couch.

“Hey. You could’ve fallen to the floor. This couch is not that big enough for both of us.”

“Then, why didn’t you just sleep in your big comfy bed with me?” Mina scoots a little and ends up using Nayeon’s right arm as pillow, keeping a leg wrapped around the Korean’s thigh.

“Because I didn’t want to.” She brushes away a few strands of hair off the Japanese’s face.

"Oh." Mina said quietly. “Ji told me you heard about Bambam.”

“Is he your boyfriend?”

“No. He’s not. It’s not that.” She exhales. “Are you mad at me?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.” Mina looks away. “Okay.”

Nayeon feels Mina pulling away so she wraps her arms around the Japanese’s waist a little tighter to keep her still. “Where are you going?”

“You’re mad at me. You may not want me around.”

“Yet, I have my arms around you.” She raised an eyebrow. “Look, I'm mad and confused, but I don’t want you to leave.” Nayeon sighs, as Mina buries her face in the crook of neck, feeling hot breath on her skin. “So, this is the part where you explain what I heard last night.”

There was moment of silence before Mina speaks up. “The company wants to make some noise for our groups and well, this is what they’ve thought of for publicity.” She starts playing on the sleeve of Nayeon’s shirt. “And they know about me. I guess this way they can also prevent any rumors about me from coming out.”

“So, they want you to pretend with that boy?”

“Yes. Pretend that we go on secret dates and pretend we’re hiding it from everyone.”

“Well, that sucks”

“Ugh, it sucks so bad.” She’s still avoiding Nayeon’s gaze. “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Honestly, I didn’t know how to.” Mina quietly answers. “I guess I’m still living in the dream where everything’s normal and we’re just ordinary people and we don’t have to deal with something like this. I was going to tell you last night but you disappeared.”

“My head was all over the place.”

“I'm so sorry, Nayeon, I didn’t want to worry you.”

“I’m a big girl, Mina, I can handle things but I have to know what I’m actually handling. This whole KPop world is still new to me but if there are things that I should know, I’d rather hear them straight from you.”

“Of course. I promise this won’t happen again. If something else comes up, I’m going to tell you right away.” She moves so she’s hovering over and looks directly into Nayeon’s eyes. _Beautiful brown eyes._ “I told you it’s not going to be easy being with me. But I promise you that’s all just for show. That’s not real. This.“ She softly pokes Nayeon’s chest with a finger. “This is real.”

Finally, Mina gets the toothy smile she’s been missing.

“It was cold sleeping in your bed alone last night. I don’t want that to happen again. I missed you.”

Nayeon pouts. “How much did you miss me?”

Mina grins before leaning down to meet Nayeon’s lips. Truth be told, she was expecting a different reaction from the girl – maybe a more negative one, but it’s a relief that she seems to be okay with this _thing_.

Warm hands slide insides her shirt and they’re making out on the couch soon after. Until they hear a door slammed shut followed by Dahyun screaming.

“Oh my god! My eyes!”

***

It’s out. Mina stretches on the floor while looking at the most recent photo Dispatch had posted. She and Jihyo went to the yoga studio before their scheduled dance trainings and singing lessons.

“I'm never drinking again.” Jihyo, lying beside Mina, groans.

“That’s what you said last time.”

“I only had six glasses. How did you become more alcohol tolerant than me?”

“Practice, GodJihyo.” Mina looks back on her phone’s screen.

**_DISPATCH:_ **

_#TWICEJihyo was seen out and about with #KangDaniel #NewCoupleAlert_

“You look great in that top.” Mina glanced her friend who seemed unfazed with the fact that the fake dating strategy had already started. “Why do you look like you’re okay with this?”

“I'm not. I'm lying to our fans. I'm lying to my sisters. It would’ve been fine if this was under different circumstances, you know.”

Mina squints, putting her phone away, “You like him, don’t you?”

“He’s okay. He’s cool, he’s not full of himself and he actually listens. We actually have conversations. It doesn’t feel forced.”

“That’s good. At least there’s something good that may come from all of this craziness.”

“Yeah, I really hope we can end up being real friends.” It’s true, Jihyo likes Daniel’s company. “What did Nayeon say?”

“She took it well. I mean, she was mad cause I didn’t tell her sooner, but we talked about it and she… She gets it?” Mina frowns. “I guess I'm a little confused why she’s okay with it.”

“Why? Isn’t that a good thing?”

“It is. But there’s a part of me that feels it’s a little too good to be true.”

“I know I’ve only met her once, but I can tell she’s a genuine type of person and you know I judge everyone I meet.”

“You do.”

“And like what you said, she doesn’t know much about our world to care about these dating rumors so just enjoy your moments with your girlfriend.“

“She’s not yet my girlfriend.”

Jihyo rolls on her tummy and looks at Mina. “What do you mean she’s not yet your girlfriend? You’ve been sneaking out to see her for months now, right?”

“Yeah, but she hasn’t asked me to be official yet. Maybe it’s the American culture she grew up with.” Mina chuckles. “I know it’s quite immature but I still want that whole ask-me-to-be-your-girlfriend proposal, you know. I haven’t experienced that before.”

“Well, then maybe you should ask her instead before she gets hit on by other people again.” Jihyo teased. “Everyone was checking her out at MuBank. I swear to god, Jackson got the hots for her.”

“That reminds me, I need to strangle that boy.”

***

It had become the Trio’s routine to meet up at the campus grounds before their afternoon classes start. Nayeon’s doing final revision of her paper, Sana’s looking through the photos on her phone while Dahyun is just staring out, frowning at her thoughts.

“It’s not like you haven’t seen me make out with someone before. Remember highschool? You were more supportive back them.”

“We were kids then and I didn’t care who you made out with.” Dahyun pinched the bridge of her nose. “But it’s different with Mina. I’d like to keep that wholesome idol image of her in my head, please.”

“You’re so lame.” Sana, poking Danyun’s cheeks. “If I were you, I would’ve even made tea and watched them.”

“You’re a perv.”

“Oh please, we all are. That’s why we’re bestfriends.”

Nayeon laughs, remembering that one summer they all spent together. She had asked her parents to fly Sana out to LA and the Trio ended up partying the entire summer break before highschool senior year. She remembers how she and Dahyun cheered on the sideline while watching Sana make out with their highschool’s Lacrosse team captain.

Sana shows her phone to her bestfriends. “Anyway, what do you think? This one?” Swipes. ”Or this one?”

Nayeon and Dahyun lean in and look at the photos.

“The second one.” Nayeon decides.

“Definitely.” Dahyun agrees.

“Great. I’ll upload the first one.” The Japanese giggles. “I still can’t believe I got a selca with JeongJiMiChaeTzu.”

Dahyun shakes her head before facing Nayeon. “So. That’s it, huh? Publicity stunt.”

“Ah-huh.” Nayeon nods. 

“I still can’t believe that they’re doing it. And with two of their members.” Dahyun sighs. “I read this all the time, you know, Dispatch and all those online tabloids and I know most of them are fake. Did she tell you when they’d start this _thing_?”

Nayeon just shrugs. She forgot to ask Mina. She was busy doing more important things with the Japanese than to talk about it.

“Well, it looks they just started.” They look at Sana who shows her phone to them.

On the screen is Dispatch’s online page with a new headline:

**_DISPATCH:_ **

_#TWICEMina with #GOT7Bambam #NewCoupleAlert_

_How would ONCE react to not just 1 but 2 dating rumors released today? No words from JYP Ent yet._

Nayeon feels a little annoyed. She’s not going to lie, this picture makes her want to beat the crap out of this Bambam boy.

“Nayeonnie.” Sana looks at her, worried. “Are you sure you’re okay with this whole fake dating thing?”

“Y-yeah.” She clears her throat. “Well, it’s not like there’s anything we can do about it. And besides, I trust her.”

“You should, cause this is just the beginning. This type of thing is going to run for a while. And you’re going to need patience too.”

Dahyun agrees with Sana. “Yeah, like lots of it.”

Nayeon looks back at the photo on Sana’s phone. Maybe she underestimated the whole situation but how bad can it get?

***

The Avengers: Endgame plays in the living room TV and Mina has both feet up on the couch, holding her switch. She’s resting for a bit after finishing a level. She feels that she has a lot of making up to do after hiding the _thing_ from Nayeon, so she had Jihyo drive her to the Korean's apartment after they got home from rehearsals.

Nayeon's on her laptop, finishing more school work and Mina finds it so cute whenever she sticks her tongue out while thinking. “I feel so domesticated.” She smiles fondly.

“Oh, we can still go out if you want to. I’ll just finish this tomorrow.”

“No, no, it’s fine. After the day I had, this is a welcome break.” Softly massaging Nayeon’s nape. “I like us like this.”

“Me too.” Nayeon decides to put her laptop down on the coffee table to give her full attention to Mina. She pulls her close, cuddling her on the couch. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Well, there were more photographers waiting for us outside the company now.” Mina lets out a deep breath as she snuggles closer. “Good thing I've been sneaking out for years so I know the best routes in and out of the dorm without being seen.”

“You still have to be careful though.” Nayeon rests her head on top of Mina as she strokes the Japanese arms affectionately.

Okay, Mina has to ask. “Are you really okay with all this?”

“Why is everyone asking me that?”

Mina reaches for Nayeon’s hands and intertwines them with her own. 

“Okay, I'm not sure what I feel about this yet.” Nayeon finally admits. “But it’s part your job, your career. I know you’ve worked hard to get to where you are now and I'm not going to jeopardize that just because I can get jealous or something.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. And I’ve had my fair share of dating a celebrity before. It’s just a bit different here in Korea, right?”

Mina sits up straight, with a scowl on her face. “Which celebrity did you date?”

 _Oops._ “Do you really want to know? It was just for short while.”

The Japanese stares at her for a moment, contemplating. “No. No, never mind. I might compare myself to her and I don’t like that.”

 _Should I tell her?_ Nayeon considered. “It was a him.”

“You dated guys?”

“Equal opportunity. And he was cute.” She loves teasing Mina, the Japanese gets a lot cuter when she gets annoyed. “But no one’s cuter than you. You’re the cutest.” Poking Mina’s nose.

Mina pretends to bite Nayeon’s finger. “Come on. Be serious.”

“I am serious. I am okay with this whole _thing_ with you and that boy as long as you tell me things I should know. And I heard you the many _many_ times you told me that it’s not going to be easy. But I don’t want easy. I just want you.”

 _Oh my god that’s so cheesy._ Mina grins. _I love it._ She moves to sit on Nayeon’s lap, looks straight to her favorite brown eyes before pulling her for a searing kiss. Will she ever get enough of this girl?

Nayeon pulls back from Mina’s lips to kiss down her jaw, up to her ear and back down to her neck. She hears a moan. _Fuck, that’s so beautiful_. She moves on to the other side. “Aren’t you lucky to have a girlfriend like me?” She breathes out.

Mina stops and pushes her back to the couch, raising an eyebrow at her. “Girlfriend?”

“Aren’t we? I mean with we’ve been dating for a while now, right?”

“The American culture you grew up in doesn’t work here, Ms. Nayeon Im. You can’t have a girlfriend if you don’t ask the girl.”

Nayeon’s a little surprised. She didn’t expect that Mina would still be a bit traditional given how they met. “You want me to formally ask you to be my girlfriend?”

Mina crosses her arms and she tilts her head to the side, waiting.

Nayeon gives in, she’ll always give in. “Myoui-san. Do you want to be the luckiest girl in the world and be my girlfriend, officially?”

“You’re so full of yourself.”

“Is that a yes?”

The Japanese rolls her eyes. _This girl is too much._ She cups her face before leaning down to continue their interrupted make out session. She can finally officially call Nayeon her girlfriend. _In private._

Nayeon was just excited to see the way Mina’s enchanting eyes glowed. She pulls Mina’s shirt off her shoulders, giving her access to that sexy shoulder. _Soft, smooth, delicious skin._

Mina’s already unbuttoning the Korean’s top when they hear that weird scream again.

“Oh please no! Not again!”

Dahyun and Sana had entered the apartment after picking up their midnight snack. How did they not hear the door opening?

“Please take it to your room!” Dahyun, covering her eyes. “I’m never sitting on that couch again!”

“Ignore her.” Sana turns one of the dining chairs to face the living room and sits on it. “Please continue.”

***

“Are you sure we got right place?”

“Yeah.” Nayeon checks her phone again. “This is the address they gave me.”

Nayeon and Sana walk into an empty warehouse. Except for a few tables and chairs, the place is mostly empty. She received an urgent email from her brother about a returning client who’d want to work with IM Interiors, LLC. And since Nayeon’s basically the only company representative in Seoul, she was instructed to meet the client and to bring Sana with her too.

“And who are we meeting again?”

“Um, Jinyoung said it’s an old client.” Nayeon admires the high ceiling of the warehouse. “Look at this place. It’s huge. So much potential.”

“I know right!” A voice from behind them said

The college girls turn around and see a beautiful woman walking towards them – platinum blonde hair, dressed in designer track suit, smirking.

“Momo!”

“Hi, Nay.” Momo smiles, opening her arms as Nayeon runs to tackle her in a bear hug. Hugging the Korean back, she nods to the other girl. “Hello, Sattang, how are you?”

“I'm well.” Sana bows. “Good to see you again, Momo-san.”

“Please, let’s drop the formalities. You're making me feel old. It’s not like we didn’t use to party together.” Momo chuckles.

Nayeon pulls back, “It’s been a while.”

“A year?” Momo guessed.

“Yeah. I think so. Where have you been?” Nayeon strokes the Japanese blond hair. “I love what you did with your hair.”

“Who knew I’d look so good in blonde, right?” Momo grins as she checks Nayeon out. “But look at you. I like this short wavy hair. Makes you look more mature, prettier.”

“I’m always pretty. What are talking about?” Nayeon laughed and pushed the older Japanese.

“So, Momoring, what are you doing here?” Sana walked closer and saw her bestfriend blushing. _Tsk tsk._

“We’re opening a branch here in Seoul and mom wants me to supervise. My parents want me to let go of the LA branch so I could be closer to home. They’ve bought me a place here and are already planning weekly visits.”

Nayeon points out. “That does sound like your mom.”

“Right. Yeah, and since dad only really trusts your furniture for quality, he wanted me to get in touch with you and work out a deal.”

“I'm pretty sure you’ve already worked out a deal with my brother.”

“That, I did.” Momo winks at her.

“So, what are we doing here?”

“Your brother told me that Sana can help with the admin part. “ Momo turns to Sana. “Since you’re taking up business management and my admin guy’s still in LA...” Shrugs. “If that’s okay with you, of course.”

“Of course, I can help.” Sana smiles, she likes opportunities like this.

“Yay.” Momo claps her hands. “And you.” Points to Nayeon. “You can help design this place.”

“Oh no. No, I can’t.” Nayeon makes an X sign with her fingers. “I don’t even have a design portfolio to show you yet.”

“You don’t have to. I know how you work. I’ve seen your designs for your brother’s bachelor pad in LA, remember? You have a talent for making a room feel safe and…” Momo wiggles her eyebrows suggestively. “Intimate.” 

_Oh, this woman had not changed one bit._ Sana watched the two. There's a lot of history between them and it used to be fun watching Momo shamelessly flirt with a flustered Nayeon but things have changed. She needs to put a stop to this and remind Nayeon of the other Japanese girl in her life. “When do we start?”

***

It’s always a full house at the Minatozaki restaurant when the clock hits 10 PM thanks to Mrs. Minatozaki’s authentic Japanese ramen. People don’t mind lining up for almost an hour just to get a steamy bowl of heaven.

And being the future restaurant owner, Sana got to skip the line and secured four bowls for tonight’s _group hang._

“It’s a lot better than the first version, huh?” Dahyun sits across Mina, showing her a snippet of her AVP project through her phone.

“Right.” Mina agrees. “The first one was a bit dragging.”

“Well, I appreciate your honest opinion.” Dahyun smiles, she should be hurt. She spent almost half a day editing a three minute video but she still can’t believe she’s hanging out with her idol in the Minatozaki kitchen so, yeah, forget ego.

Sana enters carrying a tray of ramen bowls. “Mina-chan, is she boring you with her lame fangirl edits again?” Carefully placing a bowl in front of the younger Korean.

“Hey.” Dahyun pouts.

“Well, it was… kind of boring but I find it really sweet.” Mina smiles shyly. “I even showed Jihyo that one that you sent me.”

“Oooh, that’s embarrassing.” The younger Korean covers her face.

Nayeon walks back in after answering a phone call she received a few minutes ago. Momo called inviting her for a night out and she had to decline, not that she didn’t want to spend time with an old friend, but she already made plans with Mina. And Sana had been giving her the death stare since the meeting – she didn’t want to piss her bestfriend even more.

Nayeon sits besides Mina and the KPop idol puts a hand on her waist, pulling her closer.

“Hey,“ Dahyun, putting her phone away before facing her bestfriends. “You two never told me how your afternoon deal went. Who was your mystery client?”

The two exchanged looks. Sana raised an eyebrow as if challenging Nayeon to speak.

“Ah, it was Momo.” Nayeon said rather quickly then slurps a mouthful of ramen. Hot _hot_ ramen. She may have burned her tongue.

Dahyun frowns. Did she hear her correctly?

Sana saw the confused look on her face and decided to help out. “Momo. As in Hirai Momo.”

“The same Hirai Momo from LA?” Dahyun still needs a confirmation.

“The one and only.” Sana raised her drink. “She was actually looking for you. Apparently you complete the unholy trinity.”

“Yeah? How’s Momo unnie?”

“She looks good. She’s blonde now. She now has this sexy boss bitch vibe. Very different from when she used to go out with Nayeon.” Sana slips. _Shit_. “And us. We all used to hang out together.”

How the tables have turned and if looks could kill, Nayeon had already murdered Sana.

Mina can see the uncomfortable looks shared between the Trio so she decides to just casually ask Nayeon. “Who is she?”

“She’s an old friend.” Nayeon clears her throat. “She used to be an intern at my family’s company. Her father was my Pop’s business partner back then.”

“Oh.” Mina nods, the name sounds familiar. _Hirai._ “Is she Japanese?”

“Yes.”

Silence.

Sana’s observing the couple in front of her. Dahyun’s found something interesting on the kitchen walls. Nayeon’s focused on finishing the ramen bowl. And Mina’s watching the older Korean, wondering how close this _old friend_ was to her. 

***

“Hey. You’re leaving?” It’s 5 AM and Dahyun’s making coffee for her early morning class when she hears Mina climbs down the stairs from the loft.

“Hey.” Mina smiles. “Yeah, we have an early fitting today. I should be back at the dorm before the managers come to pick us up. Nayeon’s passed out.”

“Yeah, she knew soju’s not good for her but can we really stop her?“ Dahyun chuckles. “Do you want some coffee to go?”

“Oh, no thanks. Have a good day, Dahyunie.”

 _She petnamed me. “_ You too, Mina-ya. Twice! Fighting!” She chuckles and goes back to her coffee.

Mina’s already putting her shoes on when she gives in to the nagging feeling she’s been having since last night. She needs to know so she walks back. “Dahyunie? That Japanese lady you were talking about last night, she was more than just an intern at Nayeon’s company, right?”

“Ah.” Dahyun lets out a heavy sigh. “You picked that up, huh?”

“You three weren’t really that subtle.”

“It’s a disease.” Dahyun leans back on the kitchen counter top. “Nayeon and Momo unnie, they used to have a thing. They never really dated cause we were in highschool and she was already in college. It was just a fling and it was nothing serious and that’s all in the past now.”

“Oh, okay. I was just curious.”

“I'm sure Nayeon will tell you everything if you ask her. You have nothing to worry about.” Dahyun knows that this is something that Mina should hear from her bestfriend. But she also just wanted to help clear some worries off her idol’s mind.

“Yeah, I uh – “ Mina clicks her tongue, shakes her head. “It’s stupid, I know.”

“It’s not stupid. And you know, I can tell my bestfriend’s got it bad for you.” Dahyun chuckles. “I mean, we have breakfast cereals in our cupboards and milk in our fridge. You got her whipped.”

Mina smiles shyly. Why did she have to be this jealous? “Right. Thanks, Dahyunie.”

“You’re welcome.” She watched Mina leaves. Once she’s alone, Dahyun clasps her hands together and prays. _Please please please give Nabong the brain cells she needs to talk to Mina about this and overcome temptation._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now you've met Momo.  
> It's basically just a short introduction, but you'll see more of her in the upcoming chapters. 0_o  
> Thank you for taking a few minutes off your busy busy lives to read this AU.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stream MORE & MORE.
> 
> Still unbeta-ed.

**Taesung Oppa**

BB will drive us back to the dorm after rehearsals

Please look presentable.

Mina closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. She was planning on going to Nayeon’s apartment tonight but now that would have to be rescheduled. She’s been sneaking out more to spend time at the college girl’s apartment now that Nayeon’s _old friend_ is in Seoul. It’s not that she’s jealous. No, she’s not.

She keeps reminding herself that the situation she placed Nayeon in is more difficult and she’s in no position to feel any type of jealousy. In fact, she should be grateful that her girlfriend’s handling the _thing_ really well.

But really, who is she kidding? That’s what’s actually bothering her. Is Nayeon handling it well because she got an old friend distracting her?

Mina had casually asked her about Momo. Nayeon confirmed that she and Momo dated on and off for almost three years. She was still in high school and Momo had an internship at IM Interiors but nothing serious came out of it. They lost contact when the older Japanese left.

 _Three years._ But Nayeon assured her that everything’s in the past.

She felt another buzz from her phone and the display showed _‘Meme G: New Photo Received’_. How can this girl put a smile on her face just by having her name pop up on the screen? It’s another meme, of course – ‘ _I miss you ‘cause you’re one in a minion.’_ Mina laughs.

**Evil Girlfriend**

What did I tell about memes?

**Meme G**

You know you love the memes I send you.

You had lunch?

**Evil Girlfriend**

Yes. You?

**Meme G**

Yup.

Sana and I went out with Momo.

We’re going back to uni for afternoon classes.

**Evil Girlfriend**

Ok.

I hope you behaved yourself.

Haha.

**Meme G**

Of course, I did.

I should say the same to you.

**Evil Girlfriend**

Ew.

**Meme G**

LOL.

**Evil Girlfriend**

Don’t LOL me.

Call you later?

**Meme G**

I’ll be waiting.

Mina drops her phone beside her and looks up at the ceiling. She shouldn’t really be worried of Nayeon – the girl has never done anything to make Mina doubt her.

It’s her own insecurities and besides, she hasn’t even seen what this Momo looks like. Well, she knows there’s one place she can check to find out more things about this _old_ lady _friend_.

Picking her phone up again, Mina opens Sana’s online profile. And as expected, the bubbly girl posted a photo a few minutes ago of her and Nayeon at a restaurant with another woman. _That Momo is stunning._ Mina can feel her insecurities resurfacing. And Sana’s caption is not helping at all.

**_@Sanatozaki_ **

_Blast from the past. It’s like LA all over again._

***

Sana had rolled her eyes for the nth time at Nayeon who’s on the phone with Momo. The older Japanese invited them for dinner too after having lunch, claiming she would need the best tour guides for an evening out in the city.

_“We don’t drink on school nights anymore. We’re responsible college students now.”_

_Momo H: “I highly doubt that. I follow Sana’s account and I see weeknight drinking sesh every now and then.”_

_“We’ll join you next time, Momoring. I promise.”_

_Momo H: “Come on, we’re not going to stay up too late. I’ll bring you home just in time for uni. Or you could sleep over at mine.”_

Sana glares at Nayeon who hides her blushing by laughing out loud.

_“No. Now go have fun and don’t break too many hearts tonight.”_

_Momo H: “No promises.”_

_“Whatever. Talk to you tomorrow.”_

_Momo H: “Goodnight, Naynay.”_

Sana’s still glaring as Nayeon ends the call. “You remember why you never made it official with Momoring, right? Cause she’d always have someone else. Cause she easily falls for other people.”

“O-kay.” Nayeon was taken aback. “Where did that come from?”

“From a friend who always looks after you. Stop flirting with her.”

“I'm not flirting.”

“And I'm not an only child.” Sana stops at a red light. “Just stop it, okay? You know her better than any of us and even I can see that she’s flirting with you. And maybe you don’t realize it, but you’re flirting back.”

“I’m not.” Nayeon counters. “I just missed her. That’s all.”

“We all missed her. She’s always been fun to be with.” Sana starts driving again. “But now that I see you around her again, I’m worried that you’re not completely over her.”

“What? That’s ridiculous.” Nayeon scoffs. “Have you forgotten that weekend that you had to keep me on video call just so you’re sure that I wouldn’t chase after her?”

“How can I forget?”

“And did I chase after her?”

“No, cause you didn’t know where she went.” Sana shakes her head. “Look, I just don’t want you to do anything stupid that can get yourself hurt. Or get someone else hurt.”

“I’m over her, I promise you.” Nayeon said with much conviction. “Can I just be happy that one of my oldest friends is here?”

“You seem way too happy.”

“Because it’s her. It’s Momo. She’s something familiar.”

“And Mina’s not?”

“Mina, she’s…“ Nayeon released a heavy sigh. “She’s different. She’s uncharted territory, you know.”

Sana frowns, thinking of what Nayeon meant, still keeping her eyes on the road. “Uncharted territory? Haven’t heard you associate that with someone since Mo –“ Then it clicked. “Oh. My. God. You’re in love.”

“No. Are you crazy? It’s too soon.” Nayeon denies.

“You’re using Momoring to distract yourself from the fact you’ve fallen in love with Mina.” Sana feels like a genius figuring this one out.

“No.” Nayeon shrugs. “I don’t know.”

“Then you go figure that out and just keep it wholesome with the Peach lady from now on. Okay? Cause I swear on Dubu’s checkered pants, if you break Mina’s heart, I’ll break all your fingers. No one hurts my bias on my watch.”

Sana looks so serious that Nayeon fears she really would break her fingers. That could actually be better than getting her heart broken if she explores the idea of falling in love again. Broken fingers over broken heart? Yes, much more bearable.

***

****

**_DISPATCH:_ **

_JYP Ent announces dates for #GOT7 World Tour. No comments on Twice/GOT7 members dating rumors._

Mina sits on the stool, knitting by the kitchen island with a glass of red wine when Jihyo walks in. “Hey, were you with your _thing_ too?”

“My _thing_ has name. And yes, Daniel picked me up at the nail salon. I didn’t see any photographers though. You?”

“He basically just drove us back here.”

“O-kay?” Jihyo opens the fridge to get bottle of water and leans on the kitchen island opposite Mina. “Is It getting better with him?”

“No, it’s still the same. I get into his car. Managers talk, we don’t. Then I’m home.” Mina shrugs. “Hey, did they tell that they’re extending this whole thing?”

“No. Did PD-nim tell you?”

“No, oppa told me earlier. Apparently, these rumors are helping the company’s ranking and PD-nim likes to keep it that way until at least our comeback promotions. I’m just glad that they’re actually going on tour and I wouldn’t have to actually see him in person.”

“Oh.”

Mina had been studying Jihyo’s reactions since she arrived. “Are you okay? You look kind of upset.”

“No, I’m okay. I just can’t wait for all of these to be over.” Jihyo nods. “You know you have to tell Nayeon about this _thing_ extending, right? You wouldn’t want her walking out on you again.”

“Right. I’ll tell her tomorrow. She’s probably already sleeping. Or out and about with an old friend. I don’t know. She hasn’t replied to my messages.”

“Oooh. Who made feisty Mina come out?” Jihyo teased, watching as Mina drops the scarf she’s knitting. The Japanese looks agitated. “What happened?”

“Her old friend from LA came and hired her for a job. That old friend used to have a thing with her.”

“Wow. How did you know this?”

“Nayeon told me.”

“At least she was honest about it, right?”

“I guess so.”

“But that’s not what’s bothering you, right?” Jihyo have known Mina for a few years now that she can tell when the Japanese worries about something more serious.

“Nayeon was able to go out with that girl openly. In public. They didn’t have to meet in secret and I feel guilty cause I can’t give her that. What if she gets tired of all this hiding? What if she gets tired of me?”

“Oh, don’t be like that. You said she understands the whole thing, right?”

“Yeah, but for how long?” This is why Mina avoids commitments – the fact that she’s a public figure and everything she does will make it on paper and online. It’s a stressful world she lives in and she doesn’t want to drag anyone there with her. But with Nayeon it’s different. It’s like she’s ready to take the risk. “I don’t want to lose her, Ji.”

“Oh, Mina-ya.” Jihyo goes to hug her friend. “I never thought I’d see the day you’d start catching real feelings for someone other than your Minecraft characters.”

***

****

**_DISPATCH_ :**

_JYP Ent: TWICE and GOT7 members have been friends since their trainee days._

_Malicious comments and spreading of false information will be dealt with accordingly._

Sana scoffs at the online news she as locks her phone and calls out to Nayeon who was comparing color combinations. “I guess they wanted to keep the fans on their toes. Nothing sells more merchandise than the mystery that comes with it.”

“Yeah.” They were listening to Twice music. Nayeon had decided to familiarize herself with their songs so she wouldn’t be so lost whenever they talk about Mina’s KPop girl group. “I like this song. Sana-chan, what’s this called again?”

Nayeon was so focused on picking the right colors for the walls that she didn’t notice Mina arriving.

“Sunset.” Mina answers. 

Nayeon turns around and sees Mina standing beside a grinning Sana. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

“I brought you lunch.” Mina holds out the bag of take outs.

“Yes, cause you need to eat, Nabong. How else would your creative brain function if you’re hungry?” Sana teases Nayeon then she picks up her bag starts walking out.

“Where are you going?” Nayeon’s confused.

“Getting my own lunch.” Sana calls out. “You’re welcome, Im Nayeon.” She winks before walking out the door leaving Mina and Nayeon alone.

Mina puts the take out bags on the table as Nayeon walks closer. _Ah, there it is_. That surprised look on Nayeon’s face that she likes so much.

“This is a surprise.” Nayeon, pulling an aegyo card out, rubbing her girlfriend’s arms.

“Are you doing aegyo now?” Mina’s pleasantly amused.

“Hmm.” Nayeon hums. “Don’t you like it?”

“I don’t know yet.” Mina grins. “I have a couple hours of freedom and I wanted to see you. It’s been three days and I'm getting tired of all the memes.”

“Aw, but those memes perfectly represents what I feel.” Nayeon’s another shot at aegyo. Sana insisted she tries it because Mina could like it.

And Mina did, but she’s not going to tell Nayeon that.

“Are you sure about this?” Nayeon looks around. They’re inside the soon-to-be cafe with thick walls but since she’s already used to them meeting at night, she worries that someone may see them. “It’s broad daylight, Minari. The sun will melt your evilness.”

“Well, maybe we can go somewhere more private and I can melt something else.”

Nayeon laughs as she pulls Mina to the private office space. Lunch can wait.

***

Delicious Italian dish with a side of make out sesh, yes, Nayeon never had a better lunch.

“So, yeah, more Dispatch articles in the coming days. They even told me to post suggestive online captions since they’d be going on tour soon.” Mina has head resting on Nayeon’s shoulder. “They’re going to milk this whole thing for as long as they can.”

“There’s no kissing involved, right?”

“Of course not. No, that’s like… Ew, no.”

“Good. Cause those evil lips are mine.” Nayeon’s getting the hang of this aegyo thing.

 _I’m all yours, Im Nayeon._ Mina turns to look at Nayeon who was already grinning at her. She can get lost in those beautiful brown eyes and she wouldn’t mind.

Then Mina remembers she had something. “Oh, I almost forgot.” She reaches over to pick up the little brown paper bag that was on the other side of the table. She hands her the bag and nods for Nayeon to open it.

The curious Korean repositions herself to face Mina and rips the brown paper. “Oh.” It’s a knitted purple scarf.

Mina pulls it out and carefully warps it around Nayeon’s neck. “Did you like it? I made it for you.”

“Yes.” Then Nayeon pulls Mina by the neck and crashed their lips together.

Mina gave her this extremely soft scarf but Nayeon may already be willing to give her everything. Everything. She pulls back but she keeps her hands on Mina’s face, caressing her cheeks with her thumb.

“Thank you. I know this is not what you normally do, but I'm really happy you’re here.”

“Me too.” Mina smiles.

Nayeon starts feeling the ~~bats~~ butterflies in her stomach. The glow in Mina’s enchanting eyes, that gummy smile and the soft touches of her hands make her want to say what her heart’s been feeling for the past few days. Maybe she should say it out loud. Maybe now’s the right time.

Mina feels the Korean’s gaze is more intense than they usually are. She can see the girl wanted to say something _. Come on, just say it._

 _Yes, I need to just say it,_ Nayeon readies herself.

And just like any other confession, they were interrupted when the doors open and a Japanese woman carrying bags of baking tools walks in.

Mina quickly pulls away up and stands up to greet the newcomer. Nayeon does the same after letting out a heavy sigh. _Was I really going to say it?_

“Oh.” Momo smiles at Mina. “I didn’t know we have a guest coming today.”

“Yeah, Momo, this is Mina.” Nayeon gestures, introducing the girls. “Mina, Momo.”

“Hello.” Momo walks closer to bow and shake hands with Mina. “So, I finally get to meet the reason why this grumpy bunny is not so grumpy anymore.”

Mina just smiles but she feels awkward now that she met the Japanese Momo in person. She really is stunning.

“We’re going to experiment on some cake flavors today. Would you like to join us, Mina?”

“Um, thanks but I need to get back to work.” 

Nayeon offers. “I can call Sana to drive you back to – “

“No, I’ll be fine. I’ll talk to you later.” Mina squeezed Nayeon’s hand before facing the older Japanese again. “It was nice to meet you.”

“You too. Please come back when the café opens.” Momo smiles. “Everything’s on the house for Naynay’s girlfriend.”

 _Naynay?_ Mina bows and gives Nayeon one more look before putting her bucket hat on and walks out the door.

Momo drops the bag on the table and chuckles. “Myoi Mina.” Momo’s impressed.

“How’d you know?”

“One, I'm also from Osaka. And two, I still follow JPop and Kpop. Good to know you still have a thing for Japanese girls.” 

“What?”

Momo giggles as she walks away to start working on her cake, leaving a flustered Nayeon.

***

****

**_DISPATCH_ :**

_#TWICEJihyo with #KangDaniel and #TWICEMina with #GOT7JBambam_

_JYP Ent denied the malicious rumor involving their artists_

_Konnect Ent released a statement about Daniel’s friendship with Jihyo._

It’s dinner time and Nayeon’s going through online posts, finally giving in to the nagging voice in her head to check out what’s been going on in Mina’s public life. The nagging voice being Dahyun’s.

“Fanservice? What is that?” Nayeon asks out loud.

“It’s the thing that KPop idols do that make the whole arena scream.” Dahyun, the Kpop expert explains. “Like being cute on stage, interacting with fans, doing affectionate things with other members in front of the camera, a little bromance.”

“Ah.” Nayeon nods but she really didn’t get it.

“What are you looking at?”

“Jeongmi?”

“Ah, I see. They’re actually one of the most popular ships in their group. And for obvious reason, you know that that’s just all for show, right?”

“But the fans seem to really believe it. What about you? You’re a ONCE. Who do you ship?”

“I ship Minayeon.” Dahyun proudly said as she puts a plate of food on the table.

Nayeon smiles at her bestfriend’s attempt to make her feel less stressed about this fanservice article she’s reading.

Sana comes out of the bathroom and opens the fridge. “Why do you have three cartoons of milk in your fridge?”

“Why are you always here?” Nayeon fires back. “Oh my god, are you two finally sleeping together?”

“I'm here for moral support since I know you’ve been pining over that thing you don’t want to talk about for days now.” Sana grabbed a fruit drink. “Plus, your apartment’s really near the uni so that means I don’t have to wake up too early for my morning classes tomorrow.”

Rapper Sana’s back at it again.

“And she bought us dinner, so I'm not complaining.” Dahyun added.

Sana joins them at the table and they started eating dinner.

Nayeon’s still wondering why it was so different dating a Korean celebrity. “Do the fans really do nasty stuff when they find out their idols are dating other people in real life?”

“I thought it doesn’t bother you.”

“I’ve read a few articles.” Nayeon shrugs. “I just don’t want her to start getting hate.”

“Well, that’s why her company’s doing this _thing_ to her, right?” Sana’s cutting the meat pieces on Dahyun’s plate. “In a way, they’re covering for both of you. Being in a fake relationship with a boy is better than being in a real one with a girl. It’s the lesser evil in that industry.“

“So, when they find out the truth…”

“Let’s hope they don’t.” Dahyun shakes her hands to brush off the idea. “It can ruin her entire group’s career.”

“Oh.”

Why didn’t Nayeon realize how serious the consequences can be if people finds out? But Mina knew all these. It makes her wonder if Mina’s ready to deal with those consequences. 

***

****

**_DISPATCH_ ** _:_

_Fans have mixed reactions towards dating rumors of #TWICEMina and #GOT7Bambam._

_There are some who calls it as JYPs way to get more publicity for both groups._

_However, a larger number of fans like the idea of these two friends, who grew up together as trainees, become real life couple._

“So, she’s dating this boy from GOT7? That’s all for PR, right?” After finding out that Nayeon’s secretly dating a KPop idol, Momo became more curious about the other Japanese’s career. So she scrolls through her phone, checking the latest gossip from online magazines.

“Something like that, yeah.” Nayeon said while zooming in on a photo of a bar stool on IM Interiors, LLC’s website. She needs to get these order forms sent immediately.

“Are you okay with it?”

 _Not this question again._ “I’ve dealt with this kind of thing before, remember?”

“Oh, I remember.” Momo laughs. “I also remember a certain agent who threatened you if you don’t break things up with that celebrity boy toy of yours.”

“Yeah, that was crazy. She even went to my high school just to do that. And it wasn’t like we were really dating. I only saw him twice.”

Nayeon shakes her head at the memory of an upcoming male model who she met at a fashion event in LA. She went with that boy later that evening and a photo of them walking out of a hotel was posted on an online tabloid.

It only happened once and didn’t make any impact on the model’s career at all. But the model’s agency didn’t want their talent to be associated with anyone while they build his career. He’s a big name in the fashion world now but she’s sure no one even remembered that she dated him.

That’s why Nayeon’s couldn’t really understand the risks of dating a KPop idol.

“But I don’t think it’ll be like that with her.” Nayeon, sending the email with the list of furniture she wants to be shipped out to Seoul.

“Has Dahyun or Sattang ever told you how savage KPop managers are? They’re extreme. They protect the idols but they also attack. You have to be very careful of them.”

Nayeon frowns. “You mean they could, like literally attack me?“ She remembers that manager from Music Bank. Now, Nayeon’s getting anxious, feeling the softness of the purple scarf draped on her shoulders.

“You never know.” Momo worries about Nayeon’s safety. She’s sure that the Korean girl’s not well informed of what could happen if Mina gets exposed. “Come on, let’s have dinner. My treat for getting you worked up with all this celebrity’s manager talk.”

***

Mina slowly opens the door of Nayeon’s loft bedroom, making sure not to make any loud noises. She had asked Jihyo to drive her to the apartment after rehearsals. These days their rehearsals are getting longer and longer.

She knows the girl would already be asleep. Good thing Dahyun was still up to let her in the apartment, giving her the code for future usage too. The last text message she got from Nayeon was ‘ _Goodnight, Minari. Miss you snoring beside me.’_

The night light Nayeon always puts on cast soft shadows on the walls as Mina carefully removes her jacket and changes into the PJs she brought with her. She looks around and sees the scarf she gave her resting on the bedside table. That brings a smile on her face.

Walking towards the bed, she can see the college girl’s covered with a thick blanket, a foot with the R sock peeking out. She can also hear light snores coming from the sleeping girl.

 _And she says I'm the one who snores._ Mina gently slips on the bed.

Nayeon stirs, slightly opening her eyes to see Mina lying beside her. “Oh, hello.”

“Hi there.“ Mina finds it so adorable that Nayeon only opened one eye to look at her. She wraps her arms around the sleepy girl. “Oh.” She blushed. “Baby, where are your clothes?”

“I was too tired to put them on.” She managed to put her undies on though.

“You’re going to catch a cold.”

“Keep me warm then.” With her sleepy aegyo, she snuggles to Mina.

“Go back to sleep, baby.” Mina feels a sloppy kiss her neck as she pulls Nayeon closer. _Goodnight, my love,_ she almost said out loud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't get Sana singing that chorus off my mind. Stream MORE & MORE
> 
> Minayeon is the most interrupted couple ever. Lols.  
> Minayeon deserves an alone time.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minayeon alone time.  
> Unbeta-ed.  
> Please enjoy.  
> >_<

  
Nayeon walks out of a 7eleven store in Cheongdam, sipping from a cup of iced coffee as looks around the area. It’s Friday evening and she was supposed to go out with her bestfriends but Mina sent a message wanting to meet up. She considered asking her girlfriend to join their group’s night out but Sana insisted that the couple spend it alone instead – telling her that’s it not a good idea since Momo will be joining.

Sana’s been very serious about keeping Nayeon from spending too much time with Momo – not that Nayeon doesn’t appreciate her bestfriend’s efforts, but she also just wants everyone to get along. Checking her phone, she reads Mina’s text message again.

**Evil Girlfriend**

711.

Parking lot.

She looks for the parking lot. There are some people standing around a food cart on one side and then she notices a figure leaning on one of the bollards. She dials Mina’s number.

Mina answers after two rings.

_“Please tell me you’re the creepy person leaning on a bollard in this dark parking lot.”_ Nayeon sees the figure stands up straight and turns to her direction.

_Evil Girlfriend: “No, it’s not me.”_

_“Just come here and get off the dark parking lot.”_

_Evil Girlfriend: “Why don’t_ you _come here and join me? It’s fun in the dark side.”_ Mina chuckles.

 _“Okay. I’m leaving. Bye.”_ Nayeon finds Mina’s sense of humor amusing but not right now, not in this dark parking lot.

_Evil Girlfriend: “Wait.”_

Nayeon ends the call and raises both hands out to give Mina an exaggerated shrug. She can tell Mina shook her head before getting off the bollard to walk towards her. She decided to meet her halfway.

“You’re such a baby.” Mina shakes her head.

“Heh!”

Mina holds out her hand and Nayeon immediately pulls her close. The Japanese is wearing her large hoodie again, effectively covering her face but a few golden strands of her hair are peaking out on the side of her face.

“Did you color your hair?”

“Yeah, it’s for the comeback. I'm not supposed to show it to people yet. It’s supposed to be a surprise.”

“Can I see it?” Nayeon’s a little too excited.

“Later.” Mina pulls Nayeon away from the parking lot. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“Somewhere special.” Mina smiles.

***

They walk in comfortable silence. Just two people feeling each other presence in the cold night. Nayeon feels Mina squeezing her hand every once in a while. She loves holding her hands because they’re always warm.

After a while, they turn to a corner that is covered with thick bushes. It looks like a normal landscaping design until Mina pulls her into it. Coming out on the other side of the bushes, Nayeon finds herself in an alley that’s too narrow to only allow one person pass at a time. Mina motioned for her to follow and she did until they step out of the alley and into a private village. _So this is how she’s able to avoid those papzz._

A few more minutes of walking and they finally reach the back of a three story house. Mina punched in the codes on the security keypad and a low beep and a click later, the gate opens. Nayeon had already figured out where Mina took her, but she’d wait for her girlfriend to tell her.

They enter the back door and walk into a basement that looks like a dressing room with racks of clothes, large mirrors and make up vanity on the walls. Mina turns around and smiles brightly at her.

“Welcome to our dorm.”

***

Nayeon sits on the edges of the bed while Mina plays a game on her desktop computer. She had given up on analyzing how this Minecraft game works. _They’re basically just bricks._ And just started playing with Mina’s newly bleached hair.

“Blonde looks so good on you." Nayeon leans in to whisper in Mina’s ear, trying to distract the Japanese. "You look like an angel.”

Mina felt hot breaths on her ear and she may have clicked on her mouse too violently killing a zombie but she’s not going to let Nayeon win in this little game of distraction. So, she just smiled, hoping that would hide her blushing.

“An angel of death.” Nayeon jokes. She knew she won but she’ll let Mina finish her game.

She looks around the room. It was really clean – a house plant near the large window, built-in wardrobe, a dresser and a full length mirror. It’s a minimalist concept and Nayeon approves. She sees the wooden clock that they made in Jeju hanging on the wall opposite the bed. They had exchanged their works – Mina’s clock is now sitting on Nayeon’s bedside table back at her apartment.

“So, you weren’t kidding about being a gamer girl.”

“That could be my profession if I didn’t become an idol.” Mina said as her character attacks more zombies.

Nayeon chuckles and leans to place a kiss on Mina’s cheek. “So, how long are you going to be in Japan?”

“Just for the weekends.” Mina exits out of the game after saving her progress then spins her chair around to face Nayeon. The girl group’s management gave them the weekend off before preparations for their comeback officially starts. “A little down time before our schedule becomes crazy hectic again. So you better behave when you hang out with Sana, Dahyunie and your friend.”

“Come on. Are you jealous of my _friend_?”

“Hmm.”

“Hmm.” Nayeon hummed back. “You know, you’re my favorite blonde Japanese.”

Mina scoots to the edge of her chair. “Come with me. Osaka’s beautiful this time of the year. It’s safer to go out during daylight since our group’s not really known there. We can roam around the city all day.”

“Okay.”

“Really?” Mina was a little surprised.

“Yeah. Did you expect me to say no?” Nayeon grins.

“Kind of. I was mentality preparing a list of reasons why you should come. I’m even ready to drag you to the airport with me.”

“I’d go anywhere with you.” Nayeon said in aegyo but there's sincerity in her eyes.

“Such a smooth talker. What about school? Don’t you have Saturday classes?”

“I do but it’s just a minor subject.“ Nayeon cups Mina’s face and pulls her closer to kiss the mole on that Japanese’s forehead. “This is my favorite mole.”

“Yeah?” Mina giggles.

“Yeah. Most of the photos I see online don’t show this mole. It only comes out when you’re with me.” 

The soft look on Nayeon’s face is enough to send Mina off the edge. She tilted her head up and connected their lips together. Biting on the Korean’s lower lip, she was granted the permission she knows she didn’t need anyway. Her hand travels down her body and lands on her waist, giving it a hard squeeze that elicits a moan from the girl.

She pushes Nayeon to the bad, carefully climbs on top and hovers over her. The Korean’s flustered face and swollen lips never fails to take her breath away. “You’re so beautiful, Nayeon.”

What she feels for her had become a lot more serious and she’s scared of what it meant. She’s almost certain that Nayeon shares the same feelings but she can’t assume, not until the girl actually say it.

The Japanese’s burning gaze is proving to be a little too much for Nayeon. “Yeah, you’re not so bad yourself.” Nayeon breathes out. “Your room’s sound proof, right?”

“Right.” Mina chuckles.

Nayeon smirks before switching their positions and attacking her girlfriend’s neck. She knows Mina’s weak spots and she’s about to revisit all of them tonight.

***

Mina walks down the stairs to go to the kitchen. She woke up alone and saw a note Nayeon left. The note told her that the college girl got up early to make her breakfast so that’s where she’s going.

She raises an eyebrow when she enters the kitchen and sees Jeongyeon, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu sitting by the kitchen island while Nayeon’s preparing a plate on the other side.

“Hey, guys.” Mina calls out.

“Hey, good morning.” Nayeon greets. 

“Good morning. What’s going on here?”

“Nayeon unnie made us this awesome breakfast.” Chaeyoung said with a mouthful of Nayeon’s breakfast of the champions.

Nayeon wanted to surprise Mina with breakfast in bed but she didn’t expect the other members to be up so early. _Do these Kpop idols ever sleep?_

She didn’t want to be rude, so she decided to make breakfast for everyone. And to be honest, she kind of wants to win them over just like how Mina won her bestfriends – Sana and Dahyun love the Japanese ballerina more than they love her.

This also gives her the opportunity to check on the Jeong of JeongMi. Out of curiosity, of course, because she's not jealous. Shut up.

“She makes the best coffee too.” Jeongyeon's too energetic at seven in the morning.

“Mina unnie, I heard weird noises from your room last night. Did you get into a fight with Nayeon unnie or are those hickeys all over her neck?"

“Tzuyu-ya!” Mina blushed.

Jeongyeon chokes on her coffee while Chaeyoung gives a grinning Tzuyu a high five.

Nayeon just laughed at the younger members’ antics as she leans back into the counter with her coffee. _They seem like normal people too._

“Oh hey, Mina-chan, Taesung oppa got our tickets.” Jeongyeon said as she wipes the coffee stains off her shirt. “Do you want him to pick up yours too, Nayeon-ssi?”

“No, he doesn’t have to.” Nayeon shakes her head. ”I got it taken care of. Thanks.”

“Are you sure? Our manager’s cool with it.”

Nayeon looks at her girlfriend, who just waves her hand at her as if to say, _Don’t worry about it_. 

The girls have different plans for their little weekend vacation. Jihyo plans to spend it at her parents’ home – it’s time to tell her sisters the truth about the dating rumors. Chaeyoung will take Tzuyu with her for a weekend at her grandmother’s house in the countryside. Jeongyeon is going to be visiting her sister who temporarily lives in Osaka, which is why she’d be flying out with Mina.

“Good morning, Mina-ya. Oppa will pick you up in two hours so you better get ready.” Jihyo enters the kitchen and sits beside Tzuyu then nods at Nayeon. “Although, Nayeon-ssi, you have to go inside the airport ahead of them so people won’t notice you.”

“Okay. Thanks again.” Nayeon bows to the group leader to which Jihyo returns with a kind smile.

Mina squints at Jihyo. “Did you plan this while I was still sleeping?”

“Well, I wouldn’t be the best leader if I didn’t.” Jihyo replies with a smug on her face.

Mina smiles fondly at her leader, her bestfriend. “Thanks, Ji.”

“Don’t worry about it. Just have fun in Osaka and bring Nayeon-ssi back here in one piece. We’d very much like to have this kind of breakfast again.”

Mina laughs and looks at her girlfriend who’s already showing Chaeyoung and Tzuyu her wrist tattoo. Nayeon seemed to have gone through Mina’s wardrobe because she recognizes that sailor moon shirt and seeing her girlfriend in her clothes makes her feel fuzzy inside. Oh, she can’t wait to have the girl all to herself in Japan.

***

Nayeon sits at the waiting area inside Gimpo Airport wearing a borrowed hoodie from Mina. She was dropped off the airport parking so the service can drive around the airport and pretend to drop of the Kpop Idols in front of the terminal where many of their fans are waiting. 

She had messaged Dahyun before she passed out last night, asking her to be a kind friend and bring her a few clothes for her weekend trip.

“You better bring home a lot of different flavored mochi and kitkat or I swear to god, Im Nayeon.” Dahyun arrives, pulling a small carry on luggage.

“I owe you big time for this.”

“Yes, you do.” Dahyun sits beside Nayeon. “I have to say, I'm a little surprised with this impromptu Japan trip.”

“Yeah, me too. I just said yes without thinking, really.”

“Well, I'm glad you did it anyway. Bring back spontaneous jet setter Nayeon. She was fun. I miss her.”

“Jet setter Nayeon was careless. Organized Nayeon is, well, she’s organized.” Nayeon laughs.

“I also brought this.” Dahyun hands her a small blue box that she immediately recognized.

“I didn’t ask you to bring this.”

“I know. But I also know that it’s been sitting on your dresser since Mina gave you that scarf.” Dahyun points at her neck. “Which by the way, you may want to fix now. Evidence of what happened last night is in full view.”

Nayeon blushed as she goes to fix the scarf wrapped around her neck – Mina may or may not have intentionally left her marks on the Korean’s creamy skin.

Dahyun laughs. “Seriously, just give it to her. She’ll love it.”

“You think so?” Nayeon pouts.

“Yes. Oh and Sana-chan wanted me to remind you to be careful not to be photographed with Mina. Although their group hasn’t made their debut there yet, someone could still recognize her.” Dahyun leans back on chair. “They may post about meeting her and like, what she’s wearing, who she’s with, those kinds of stuff.”

Nayeon nods. “Where’s Sana anyway?”

“She left with some girl last night.” There’s definitely a hint of irritation in Dahyun’s voice.

And Nayeon noticed it. She was debating whether to ask about it when the sound of shoes hitting tiled floor erupted followed shortly by a few noises that sounded like names are being called.

They look over and saw a group of people, boys and girls, with cameras moving from the entrance to the airport check-in.

“That would be them and their fansites.” 

“Fansites?” Nayeon seriously needs to read things up about KPop culture.

“They’re – “. Dahyun stops and goes to tap on her phone then looks back up after a few moments. “I just sent you a document with all the KPop things you should know. I prepared it for you so read it, please. Anyway, fansites are like dedicate fans who take really good pictures of their idol at event and airport photos are really important in KPop.“

It looks intense with everyone flashing their camera lights and calling their idols names.

“You're probably not going to see this in Japan.” Dahyun continues. “It’s the one thing that they can still avoid there.”

Nayeon looks back at the crowd. She really hopes Mina gets to relax when they get to Osaka.

***

The flight was uneventful except for the three times Mina went to the lavatory and passed by Nayeon’s aisle to poke her on the cheek. It was cute. She even saw Jeongyeon trying to contain her laughter.

Mina had given her instructions to go straight to the parking area where a woman would be waiting for her. She asked how she would find the woman and Mina just answered her with a short _, ‘She’ll know it’s you’._

And now here she is, standing outside the terminal, with her carry on, looking around the area. She saw a group of four guys with masks on enter the terminal and she just knows that those are the security for Mina and Jeongyeon because they look like club bouncers – that and the fact that one of them was wearing a jacket with a small JYP logo.

A few more minutes have passed when she noticed a woman crossing the street from the parking area waving at her. She frowns, _Is this the woman I’m supposed to meet?_

“Hello. You must be Nayeon-ssi?” The woman bows to her when she’s a feet away from and Nayeon the same.

“Yes, I am. Hi, how are you?”

“Good. I'm Seungyeon, Jeongyeon’s sister.”

_Ah, that’s right. She smiles just like Jeongyeon._

“She sent me your photo that’s how I was able to recognize you.” Seungyeon waves her phone. “Let’s go.”

“Okay.” Nayeon follows Seungyeon into the parking lot where an SUV was parked.

She unlocks the car and motions for Nayeon to get into the backseat. Seungyeon is a Korean actress who had temporarily moved to Japan for a 2-year-contact on a TV series. Her contract’s almost up and she can’t wait to come back home to fully support her sister’s KPop career.

Jeongyeon would always visit her anytime she gets the chance and most of those visits would have Mina on the same flight so Seungyeon had gotten close to the Japanese ballerina too.

Nayeon sits comfortably at the back while she opens her phone to connect to the internet and checks the group chat Sana had once again renamed as _STANS + NABONG-KERS_. Dahyun had helped set her phone up before leaving Seoul.

**Nabong-kers**

I'm alive.

I'm in JY’s sister’s car.

We’re just waiting for them now.

**CY Stan**

Too many ownerships in that sentence.

**JY Stan**

Omg you met Seungyeon?

Please tell her I love her cat.

**Nabong-kers**

I will do no such thing.

**JY Stan**

Please get her autograph too.

Thank you.

Enjoy.

Don’t do anything I wouldn’t 

**Nabong-kers**

Gross.

Nayeon laughs and decides to check on Dispatch. She’s been checking out the page every now and then to see if they’ve written anything about Twice, about Mina. She sees photos of her with Jeongyeon from when they were leaving South Korea.

**_DISPATCH:_ **

_#TWICE Jeongyeon and Mina in GMP Airport on their way to Japan. Have a safe flight, girls._

She was watching the video of Jeongyeon and Mina bowing and waving to fans as they walk through the terminal. Some fans were handing them gifts, letters and flowers that both girls gladly accepted.

She was halfway through the video when she hears a little commotion outside the car. She didn’t need to open the tinted windows to know that it was because the KPop idols have stepped out of the airport.

The doors opened and the passenger seat was quickly occupied by Jeongyeon and Mina hops onto the backseat. Good thing fans are not allowed to enter the parking – there were several fans that waited for them after seeing the video of them leaving Gimpo Airport. The Twice members said their _Thank you’_ s to the security before Seungyeon drives away.

“Hey.” Mina pulls her hoodie down and lets out a heavy sigh before turning to look at Nayeon.

“Hey.”

Mina reached for Nayeon’s hand and squeezed it. She didn’t move closer because they’re in Seungyeon’s presence and it would be quite disrespectful. Though she knows the Yoo sisters wouldn’t mind.

The sisters had been watching them from the rear view mirror and Seungyeon decided to speak in Japanese. "Mina-chan, do you want to pick up Ray from the dog daycare?”

“Oh, no need. My mom’s friend will bring him home later. You can just drop us at my house.” Mina smiles.

“Of course she would want to go straight to her house. It’s been a tiring flight. She needs to relax.” Jeongyeon wiggles her eyebrows suggestively, earning a slap on the shoulder from Mina. Seungyeon just laughs.

Nayeon’s is quite lost. She understood a few Japanese words like house, dog and Mina-chan. But she can tell that the sisters were teasing Mina with the way her girlfriend’s face turned a bright shade of red.

Mina looks at her to interpret what the conversation was about, leaving out the teasing part. “Our dog is at dog daycare. But my mom’s friend will pick him up and bring him to the house later.”

“Oh, okay.” Nayeon smiles.

“So, we’ll drop you at Mina-chan’s house so you both can _relax_.“ Jeongyeon reverts back to Hangul and wiggles her brows suggestively again.

This time, Mina just covered her face with her free hand. There’s no stopping the younger Yoo whenever she’s in the mood to tease her friends. Unfortunately, today, Mina is that friend.

***

Nayeon enters the Myoi penthouse suite that's located at an exclusive residential building. She looks around the unit. It’s an open space, minimalist concept that she’s been obsessing for months now. 

Mina watched as Nayeon studies the interior design choices. She’s now used to the way her girlfriend scrunched her nose up while getting lost in her thoughts. “Are you done checking out our house?”

“I don’t know. I really love it. It’s like I’ve seen it before. Do you know who did this?”

Mina thinks. “My mom helped. But they had Kanji Ueki design most of it.” She’s not sure of the designer’s name.

“Kanji Ueki? Oh my god. _The_ Kanji fucking Ueki.” Nayeon’s hyperventilating.

“Is this you fangirling? Cause I haven’t seen you this giddy before.”

“He’s one of my favorite interior designers. I base most of my works on his.” Nayeon giggles. “And to be in a house that he designed, it just, it makes me feel so honored to be standing here.”

“Okay. And how do you feel about being in the house where you’re going to spend the the weekend with your girlfriend?” Mina pulls Nayeon closer and wrapped her in a tight embrace. “Alone.”

Burying her face on the crook of the Korean’s neck, Mina feels how her heartbeat starts racing. Or is it Nayeon’s?

Nayeon slowly pulls back after a while, placing a kiss on her cheek and looks at her closely. _This feels so right._ She can feel the words fighting their way out of her mouth.

Doorbell rings.

 _Can’t we catch a break?_ Mina lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “That could be Ray. I'm excited for you to meet him.”

Nayeon watched her walk to the door. Why was it so hard to just say those three short words?

***

The couple decided to take an afternoon stroll around the city. Nayeon received many messages from her bestfriends reminding her of the Japanese snacks they wanted her to bring home. So, Mina brought her to the best place to get those snacks which is just a few blocks away from their residential building.

They're walking side by side with Mina holding on to Nayeon’s right arm and three big plastic bags of treats in Nayeon’s left hand.

“I can actually picture that cause you’re really smart and don’t even try to deny it. I bet you’d make a great doctor.”

“Yeah, but I really didn’t want to be in the medical field, you know. Way too many hours in the hospital, lesser time for things that are more important.”

Nayeon looks at her side ways. Mina definitely meant something else.

“Mom and Dad were always busy with their jobs. That’s why I took up a lot of after school activities like ballet. That way I wouldn’t have to come home early to an empty house. “

“I'm sure your parents did their best to spend more time with you.”

“Well, my Mom did. And I understand that my dad’s work required most of his time spent away from home. Sometimes, I think that was the reasons why he accepted me liking girls. To like, compensate for his absence.”

“Hey.” Nayeon gently nudged Mina’s shoulders. “He accepted it because he loves you for who you are.” The girl’s grip on her arm got a little too tight so Nayeon changes the topic. “I still can’t believe you never told me you were born in Texas. I should change your name on my phone to Evil Cowgirl.”

“I thought you would’ve found out with Dahyun being a _Mina stan_.”

“Oh. She’s no longer a Mina stan. She’s now a Chaeyoung stan. She said she feels weird posting stuff about her bestfriend’s girl online.”

“Really? Well, at least I still have Sana.”

“Yeah, no. She’s a Jeongyeon stan now.” 

“Now that’s just sad.” Mina pouts. “How about you?”

“I'm your girlfriend.”

Mina stops walking, pulling Nayeon back and almost causing her to trip. It doesn’t really matter who stans who, she just want to get a reaction from Nayeon.

“Of course, I'm a Mina stan.” Nayeon grins. “I stan you very much. I'll stan you so hard you won’t be able to dance for days.”

Mina blushed as she playfully pushed Nayeon away.

“MINA-SAN.”

A group of school girls recognized the Kpop Idol and called out Mina’s name. It wasn’t loud to get other people’s attention but enough for the couple to hear it. Mina gave an apologetic smile to Nayeon, to which the Korean responded with a smile and a nod.

Mina bowed to the three girls as she approached them. They handed her a bag of gifts – you can tell the young girls didn’t expect on seeing their idol and just bought random stuff to give her.

She accepts the gifts and bows once again to say thank you. They didn’t ask for a picture but the girls were so flustered, Nayeon thinks one of them might actually faint. Actually make that three. Three Japanese students will faint after an encounter with Mina of Twice.

Mina tugs on Nayeon’s arm and pulls her into walking back to the Myoi residence.

“Yeah, you’re definitely going to be stanned so hard tonight.” Nayeon whispered.

Good thing Mina had put her face mask back on, effectively hiding her flustered face.

***

“Mina-san looks so snobbish even as a toddler doesn’t she, Ray-chan?” Nayeon’s sprawled on the living room floor looking through the photo albums of baby Mina with Ray lying next to her.

“I do not.” Mina disagrees. She sits on the couch, right behind Nayeon just watching her girlfriend flip through photos.

Nayeon pets Ray who gives a soft cooing sound. “You do. Ray seems to agree with me.”

“I feel so betrayed by one of my own. No more treats for you tonight, Ray-chan.” Mina pretends to scold Ray who lowers his head and snuggles closer to Nayeon.

“Oh, don’t worry baby boy, the great Nayeon-ssi got you covered.” Nayeon whispered to the sweet dachshund.

“Really?” Mina scoffs.

Nayeon chuckles. Who knew she and Ray would hit it off immediately?

Mina’s phone buzzed with an incoming text message. “Oh, mom and dad say hi to you.”

“Y-your parents know I'm here?” The Korean sits up.

“Well, yes. This is their house. They have to know who comes to sit on their couch and steals sake from their liquor cabinet. And they want a photo of you with Ray too.”

“No.”

“Come on. My parents just want to see the face of the first girl their only child brought home.” In three, two, one. Mina’s aegyo mode on. “Please.” And that was enough for Nayeon to grab Ray.

Nayeon turns around, hugging the fluffy dachshund so they’re facing Mina who starts taking a few photos. She sends one to her family’s group chat just as Ray managed to get out of Nayeon’s hold and wandered off.

“I'm the first girl you’ve ever brought home?”

“You’re the first person I’ve ever brought home.”

“Uhm, does that mean you’ve never had boyfriends?”

“Well, I went out on a few _real_ dates with boys before, but no, I’ve never had boyfriends.”

“I'm the first, huh.” Nayeon tilts her head and studies Mina’s features. Her long blonde hair softens her features, makes her look like she's actually glowing. Her moles in full display on her bare face. The red turtle neck that matches the blush creeping up her cheeks. And those enchanting eyes. "I love you.”

Mina’s heart would’ve jumped out of her chest if that was even possible. Did she hear Nayeon right?

“I was planning on doing something romantic when I tell you but I just can’t keep it anymore.” Nayeon can see the changes in Mina’s facial expression. It went from being shy to almost hopeful. “You make me so happy. You also scare me a lot. We always say it’s too soon, but I'm going to be brave cause I don’t want to lose you.“

Mina slides off the couch and kneels in front of Nayeon on the floor. “Say it again.”

Nayeon smiles as she tucks a few strands of Mina’s hair behind her ear and looks directly into her eyes. “I love you, Mina. You have my heart.”

“I love you too, dork.” Mina said in between kisses. _Finally_.

***

****

**_DISPATCH_ ** _:_

_#TWICEMina spotted on the streets of Osaka sporting a new hair color._

_She stopped to greet fans and thanked them for their support._

_Check out more instances Mina gave fanservices outside of official schedule._

Mina gently massages Nayeon’s upper back, tracing the outline of her shoulders blades with her thumbs. She prepared a morning bath to soothe their exhausted bodies. Being intimate with Nayeon feels different after last night – it’s the same craving but the intensity level had gone sky high. 

“Jeongyeon unnie was the first person to know. I told her before I told my parents. She was the only trainee that I was close with back then and she’s always been there for me.” Mina feels it’s only right that Nayeon knows. “You’re not jealous of JeongMi, are you?”

“No, I don’t think so. It feels weird though, you know, to see you flirt with her on those videos Dubu showed me.” Nayeon sits in between Mina’s legs, enjoying the massage on the sore part of her back. She’s pretty sure there were ~~bite marks~~ bruises there. “But I get it cause I'm the world's most understanding girlfriend.”

“You really are.” Mina wraps her arms around the girl.

“How did your boss find out?” Nayeon asked. “And you don’t have to answer if you’re uncomfortable. I'm just curious.”

“No it’s fine.”

Nayeon gives Mina an encouraging kiss on the cheek and waits for the Japanese to speak again.

“Well, there was a girl. I had a huge crush on her and she knew about it. She started with JYP earlier than me and she was already set to debut. But then, her group got cancelled and Twice was formed instead. I guess she was really furious so she took her anger out on me. She outed me to our CEO.”

Mina sighs. The memory still leaves a bitter taste in her mouth.

“I thought I was going get kicked out but Jihyo and Jeongyeon fought for me, I owe them so much. And I guess our CEO saw my potential too. So they kept me but it came with a price. I’d have to hide my true self and lie and follow, without questions.

“I really wish I can change that.“

“Me too. But being in Twice is my dream. I love performing. And I get to meet a lot people who tell me how much our group inspired them. So I guess, even with all the bullshit behind the scenes, the rewards are still great.”

Mina moves closer to rest her chin on the Korean’s shoulders. “Imagine if I stopped being a trainee and decided to become a doctor and then you went to London for college instead of Korea. Do you think we would have met?”

“Hm, yeah, I think so." Nayeon leans her head on Mina’s. "I think that no matter what path you choose, if a person is destined to be part of your life, the universe will work its magic for you to meet them.”

“So, you think I'm destined to meet you?”

“I think you’re destined for great things in life, Minari. And I just happen to be on those great things.” Nayeon said with smug look on her face.

Mina laughs at her girlfriend’s antics, then the doorbell rings. “That must be Jeongyeon unnie and her sister. They invited themselves for lunch today.”

***

“Have you read the email attachment from JYP?” Jeongyeon asks as she stirs the pot of stew she’s cooking.

“Oh yes.” Mina smiles widely. “Switzerland. I'm so excited. I’ve always wanted to visit Europe. What do you think?”

“I'm excited too. All of us in Europe. It’ll be like a vacation. Wouldn’t really feel like work.” Jeongyeon put the lid back on. “Have you told her?” She nods towards the living room where Nayeon and Seungyeon are doing origami.

“Not yet. We were kind of busy last night.”

“No oversharing, Mina-chan.” Jeongyeon joked. “I'm so happy to see you in love. All of us are.”

“It’s overwhelming, unnie. I'm so happy but I keep thinking that any moment, all this could be taken away from me.”

“Hey, don’t stress yourself about it. You’re lucky to have met Nayeon. And by the way she looks at you we can all tell she's head over heels for you.” Jeongyeon side hugs Mina. “After everything you went through, you deserve this happiness. Don’t ever doubt that.”

“Thank you, unnie.”

“And if she ever hurts you, remember we have a Tzuyu. We’ll unleash our monster maknae on her westernized ass.”

They laugh. It’s a joke but she knows there’s seriousness in Jeongyeon’s tone. She’s grateful for having such loving and sometimes overly protective members.

***

“Hey, can I join you?”

“Sure.” Nayeon smiles, watching the Korean idol leans into the balcony railings.

“How did you like lunch? And please be honest, I want to know if my cooking skills are lacking?”

Nayeon chuckles. “It was delicious.” Then she squints. “But maybe make it a little spicier the next time. It’ll balance the creaminess of the soup.”

“I see. I’ll definitely keep that in mind. Thanks.” Jeongyeon laughs. “So, next topic. Mina.”

“Yup.” Nayeon’s been anticipating this moment – the moment when one of Mina’s friends would give her _the talk_ , very much like how Sana _talked_ to Mina before.

“Our group’s got many followers. We’re becoming a little more popular.“ Jeongyeon chuckles. “And Mina’s one of the most popular member cause of how sweet she is with everyone. But you already know that.”

Nayeon nods and waits for the other girl to continue.

“We’re always really busy and it’s hard to find people who will be patient enough to understand the nature of our work.” She looks at Nayeon. “So, thank you for being patient with her. Mina’s like my sister and I need you to promise me that you’ll take care of her and keep her happy.”

Nayeon had seen a many Twice videos thanks to her bestfriends and in all those videos she’s never seen this serious side of Jeongyeon.

“I promise.” Nayeon means it.

“Cool.” Jeongyeon raises her glass to Nayeon and the college student clinks the bottle of her fruit drink to it.

It’s a deal. It’s a promise. One that Nayeon intends to keep. 

***

“There’s a huge difference.” Nayeon whines, propping her head up on one elbow. ”Vaccine needles penetrate deeper cause they have to reach your veins. So there’s a possibility of it breaking and then half of it will be stuck inside your body.”

“It’s still just a needle. You’re such a baby for someone with tattoos.” Mina who’s lying on her side, tracing the tattoo on her girlfriend’s exposed collar bones. She finally figured out what it was – it’s the name of Nayeon’s parents written backwards.

“I am not a baby.” Nayeon’s aegyo comes out naturally these days.

“ _You’re_ my baby.”

“Okay, fine, if you put it that way.”

Mina pokes her nose. “Do you want anything from Switzerland?”

“Cheese for wine nights. I want you to have fun while you’re there. It’s a beautiful place. You’re all going to love it.”

“So, you’ve also been there?” She watched Nayeon nods. “Rich kid behavior.” She teased.

“Oh shut up. You say that like you’re not one of us, Ms. Daughter-of-the-hospital-director who lives in a penthouse suite in the richest district of the city.”

Mina rolls her eyes. “Where’s your dream vacation? Some place you haven’t been to.”

“Greenland.” Nayeon replied. This place had been on her bucket list for a long time now. “It’s so far off the grid and there’s this restaurant there that sells alcoholic coffee in their breakfast menu.”

“You love alcohol way too much.”

“I appreciate alcohol.” The Korean corrected her. “You?”

“Hawaii. Anywhere near the ocean, honestly.”

“Oh. I almost forgot.” Nayeon suddenly remembered something and jumped out of the bed.

“What is it?” Mina sat up and watched as a naked Nayeon digs through her luggage. _This girl has no shame._

Nayeon finally found what she was looking for and slipped back under the blanket, smiling at a curious Mina. She presented her a blue box and nods for her to take it. The Japanese grabs the box and opens it.

There lies a pair of gold earrings.

“I got it a few weeks ago. It’s got a little shark cause you find them cute, I swear to god I still don’t know why you do, and a penguin cause I found out that that’s like, your representative animal or something.”

Mina takes the earrings out of the box and admires them.

“Do you like it?”

“I love it. Thank you, Baby.”

Nayeon repositions herself on the bed to cuddle Mina.

“I wish we could just stay here for a few more days and not go back to Seoul tomorrow. I don’t want to face reality yet.” Mina said quietly. "I just want to stay here with you."

***

The flight back to Seoul was filled with the Kpop idols teasing a very sleepy Nayeon. Jeongyeon had approached her several times to ask if she wants to switch seats while Mina did the same antics of walking past her to poke her cheeks without anyone else noticing. 

A number of photographers were already stationed just right behind the lines waiting for Twice members at the arrival gate. Dahyun weren’t kidding when she said that airport culture is a big deal.

Lowering her head and using the scarf she was wearing to cover the lower half of her face, Nayeon calmly walks away from the crowd. She's already a few meters away when she stops and decides to watch how this will play out.

Sending a text to her bestfriends’ group chat.

**Nabong-kers**

I just arrived.

I’ll take a cab.

Your Japanese treats will be at home in a few.

She looks up when she started hearing camera clicks and voices calling out Mina and Jeongyeon’s names. Good to know that their security was already in position when they landed – she recognized one them as the manager called Taesung, the same manager who drove them to the airport the other day.

Maintaining a safe distance from all the commotion, she watched as people swarms the idols who were making their way to their service, parked outside the airport. The noises finally died down and Nayeon knew it's because the service had already left.

**Evil Cowgirl**

I saw you.

Lemme know when you get home.

**Softie**

I will.

Get some rest.

**Evil Cowgirl**

I’ll probably have a few hours to sleep.

Then we have a meeting tonight.

**Softie**

OK.

You changed my nickname?

**Evil Cowgirl**

Cause you are a softie, duh.

I'll call you tonight.

ILY.

**Softie**

I love you.

Nayeon lets out a satisfied sigh. It feels so good so finally say it. _But why am I feeling nervous?_

Looking back at the group of photographers who are now leaving the airport, she now understands what Mina meant about facing reality. But would this be her new reality too?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I wrote this update in a rush and the dog show with Namotzu was on, but I still hope that you liked it.  
> :)
> 
> Anyway, continue steaming More&More.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That Minayeon weekend getaway was fun.  
> Now back to reality.  
> :)  
> Unbeta-ed. But you already know that.

“There are like, three wrong items on the shipment. Why didn’t you tell me as soon as the furniture arrived?” Nayeon clicks her tongue as she reads through on the delivery check list again.

“I was not going to disturb you on your romantic getaway.” Momo explains while eating a bowl of cereal, sitting at one of the corner booths. “And besides, the ones that came look better than the ones we ordered.”

“No, it’s wrong. It doesn’t give off the same vibe like the ones we’ve chosen.” Nayeon pinched the bridge of her nose. “It’s too early in the morning for this migraine I'm sensing I'm about to get.” She looks back at the boxes of furniture.

“Nay, it’ll be fine.” Momo attempts to assure the younger Korean. “Besides, it’s going to cost more if we return these items and push back the opening date. Dad wants the café opened before the holiday season starts.”

Nayeon throws her hands up before dropping herself on the loveseat that was part of the delivery. “I just... I want this place to look perfect.”

“And it will be.” Momo got up from the booth and skipped to the join Nayeon on the couch. “All these furniture came from your company anyway, I'm sure you’ll work out a new design. I trust you.”

Nayeon scoots closer and rests her head on Momo’s shoulders. It still feels familiar – feels like a 16-year-old Nayeon whining about something that can easily be fixed and a 19-year-old Momo basically just shrugging it off.

“Why?”

“Hmm?”

“Why do you trust me with your café?”

“Again, I’ve seen what you did with your brother’s place. I know you’ve been pitching in ideas to your company’s creative team.” Momo shrugs. “And I also know that you do everything with passion. Given that you also did a lot of questionable things but still.” The older Japanese laughs.

“Shut up.” Nayeon slaps her leg.

“I trust you cause you always made sure everything gets done correctly. Always made the right decisions, always do the right things, even if you’re not particularly happy with it.”

Nayeon frowns. She looks up to see Momo in deep thoughts. _Is she bringing up the past?_

“Don’t psychoanalyze me. I'm still talking about the café.” Momo said with her signature smirk.

“Okay.”

“You’re Im Nayeon. It’ll be great.”

***

****

**_DISPATCH:_ **

_Photos of #TWICE Jeongyeon and Mina while the Kpop idols were in vacation._

_Check out how the idols spent their mini vacation in Japan. See photos here._

**_COMMENTS:_ **

_OP who met Mina said she was very nice to stop and talk to them._

_OP said she got so shy asking for a photo and that Mina received their gifts with a warm smile._

_Mina looks so good in blond. She’s like a real life fairy._

_Blonde Mina slays_

_ONCE, has any of you seen Mina’s friend before? Is she part of their entourage? Who is she?_

_Who cares about her friend, the important thing is that our Minari had a great vacation._

_Minaya, who’s your friend?_

_That photo of them holding hands at the airport looks like a couple who’s on their honeymoon._

_JeongMi superior._

_Found her! She walked out of the gate a few minutes before JeongMi did._

_Oh so she’s not a part of their entourage?_

_Good thing, Master-nim was already filming when passengers started to arrive._

_It’s great to know our girls have friends outside of Twice._

***

Mina sits in their CEO’s office with their managers as their PD-nim reads the reports online. They all wait for him to finish and as usual, no one dared speak up. She knows this is regarding the posts about her and Nayeon while they were in Japan.

“Well, the good news is that they’re all just curious if she is part of your entourage.” The CEO looks at her. “Who is she Mina?”

“She’s a friend.” Mina feels like her heart is stuck in her throat. This isn’t the first time she felt like this.

Their CEO was looking at her the same way he did four years ago when he decided on her future as an idol.

PD-nim looks at a scared Mina. “I can’t tell you who to be friends with or not, I trust your judgments. But if this friendship is going to create problems with you and your group’s image, then I’d have to step in.”

PD-nim stands up from his seat and walks around his office. The managers just watch. “She was your guest at MuBank, right?”

“Yes.“

“Do you think she’s going to cause troubles?” PD-nim crossed his arms.

“No, she won’t. I promise.”

“You understand that we still have to do damage control. We can’t have people talk about you and another girl who’s not even in your group.”

Mina nods.

“I want you to continue your fan services with Jeongyeon-ah. Give your fans something else to talk about besides the whole thing with Bambam. Which, to be perfectly clear, will still continue until your comeback promotions.“

All Mina can do really is to nod.

“I don’t have to remind you of the stress you went through when words got out about your sexuality. I'm just trying to protect you and the company from the harsh reality that the public is just not ready for something like that.”

***

“It’s a good thing that those videos were really shaky and that only half of your face was showing.” Sana said after watching the short airport video online. She's sitting on the floor with the Japanese snacks, giving her attention back to the movie on TV that Nayeon doesn’t recognize.

“Yeah, I didn’t know they’d be filming.” Nayeon’s on the couch, working on new designs for Momo’s café. 

“They always get filmed. Everywhere they go as soon as people recognized them.” She opens another bag of snacks. “How’s the café's new design going?”

“It’s coming together. I can’t wait for the opening. I can finally add something legit in my portfolio. But I'm actually really nervous.”

“It’s going to be really great. Interior design runs in your blood. Everyone’s going to love what you did with the place.”

“I really hope so.”

“So, did you enjoy Japan?”

“I did. It was more beautiful than I remembered it to be.” Nayeon exhaled deeply. “Sana, can I talk to you about something?”

Sana turned around and saw something on the Korean’s face that worries her. “Is everything okay? You never call me that unless it’s serious.” 

Nayeon’s expressions read fear that Sana had only seen once – it was in the middle of that dreadful night she got a video call with a scared Nayeon, telling her about the possibility of her parents being on the plane that crashed.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“I uh, I told her I love her.”

“Wow. How did she react? Oh my god. Did she reject you?”

“No, no. She said she loves me too.”

“Oh.” Sana’s confused. “And that worries you because…?”

“I don’t know. I feel like we just became vulnerable. Like, we kind of just granted permission to hurt each other.”

“What you talking about?”

“Well, of course I wouldn’t hurt her. I'm never going to do that. But what if I end up getting hurt, you know. I don’t know if I can deal with that. Not another heartbreak.“ 

“Aww.” Sana waddles to the couch. “Nayeon, don’t overthink. You love her. She loves you. That’s all that should matter.” She squeezed the Korean’s knees. “We don’t know what’s going to happen in the future but you’re never going to be alone to deal with anything. Okay?“

Sana engulfs Nayeon into a big hug. Her mission is still the same as it was before – protect Nayeon at all cost.

***

_“It’s totally fine.”_ Nayeon’s getting ready for bed while talking to Mina on the phone. _“I know you’re going to get really busy, you told me this already.“_

 _“Yeah and they got really strict with rehearsals.”_ Mina’s stretching her legs at the dance studio.

_“As they should.”_

_“But I miss you.”_

_“It’s only been like two days since Japan, Minari.”_ Nayeon climbs on her bed.

_“And that’s forty-eight hours already, Nayeon. Don’t you miss me?”_

_“I do, clingy.”_ Nayeon can almost hear Mina’s pouting, if that’s even possible. _“More than you know. Especially now that I'm home alone.”_

_“Eh? Where’s Dahyun?”_

_“She’s on a date tonight.”_ Nayeon proudly said. “ _Yup, she finally found someone brave enough to accept her weird fangirl self.”_

_“Wow. Look at her go.”_

_“I know.”_ Nayeon chuckles. _“I really hope she gets laid tonight. I’ve taught her all the moves to get the girl.”_

_“Oh really? You?”_

_“Yes, me. I got the girl, didn’t I?”_ She’s sure Mina just rolled her eyes. _"I love you. It feels so good to say it.”_

_“Well, it feels so much better to hear you say it.”_

_“You’re blushing now, aren’t you?"_ If there’s one thing she knows about Mina is that the girl actually gets flustered pretty easily.

_“No.”_

Nayeon was going to continue on teasing her but she heard someone called Mina from the background.

 _“Hey, I have to go back to rehearsals."_ Mina lets out a heavy sigh. _"Don’t sleep naked. You’ll catch cold and I won’t be there to warm you up.”_

_“Aye. I’ve got clothes on, I promise. Goodnight, blushy.”_

_“Good night, softie.”_ Mina chuckles when she hears her girlfriend makes kissy sounds on the other line as she hangs up. She wants nothing more than to sneak off to Nayeon’s apartment.

She looks ahead and saw Bambam standing by the doorframe waving at her. That happy feeling she got from talking to her girlfriend was immediately replaced by guilt.

Mina had completely forgotten about the plan for the boy group member to pick her up from the side of the company building to put on a show for the awaiting Dispatch photographer.

She debated on whether she should call Nayeon back or let the girl sleep since she’s got an early class in the morning and an appointment with Momo the next day.

_Momo._

Since they returned from their weekend getaway, Nayeon’s been spending all of her free time with the older Japanese. It’s definitely because of the café, Mina knows that. But still, she can’t help but get anxious everytime the two old flames are together.

 _Stop this now,_ she tells herself. _There's really no reason to get jealous._

She decides to just message Nayeon tomorrow. Besides, she’s afraid that once she calls her again and she starts talking, she’ll also end up telling her about her boss limiting her personal time outside of their schedule. And knowing the college girl, she’d make Mina follow the rules even it means lesser time spent together. And Nayeon spending lesser time with her means Nayeon spending more time with Mo –

_I said stop this now._

***

“A little to left.” Nayeon points. “No, higher, higher.”

Nayeon’s ~~shouting~~ giving out instructions to two workers who were holding a painting, ready to hang on the wall. It’s one that Momo personally picked out from the art gallery a few blocks away and the Korean designer wants it perfectly hanging above the bar.

“You’ve been at that painting for over thirty minutes already, Naynay.” Momo had been watching the entire time, picking the right moment to intervene. “You might as well just have it on the floor cause I bet you they’re going to drop it any second now.”

Momo has a point.

So, Nayeon groaned and decided to let the workers go. “That’s alright. We’ll get back to that later. Thank you. “

She bowed to the two workers who were helping out with the painting as they carefully propped the art piece to the wall. She turns around to find the older Japanese leaning on a table crossed arms, raising an eyebrow at her.

“What?”

“You seem a little on edge today. Did you wake up on the wrong side of bed? What's up with you?”

“Nothing.” Nayeon snaps.

“You sure it has nothing to do with those new photos from Dispatch released this morning?”

Nayeon glared at Momo and started to walk away when the older Japanese grabs her to stop.

“Hey, hey I was just asking you. You really didn’t need to throw me that look.” She started rubbing Nayeon’s arms. “I haven't seen you this grumpy before. You were also kind of overworking everyone when everything’s almost finished.”

“I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“I know. It’s okay. I already told everyone they can get off work early today.”

“Can I go home then?”

“No, I won’t let you sulk alone with whatever it is that’s bothering you.” She wraps an arm around the younger Korean. “I'm taking you out tonight. And you’re not going to decline my invitation this time. No.”

***

**_DISPATCH:_ **

_#GOT7Bambam picking up #TWICEMina from rehearsals._

_See photos here._

Mina walks out of the studio after she finished recording her parts on the new song they’re working on. She hasn’t received a text message from Nayeon since morning and she’s pretty sure she’s seen the Dispatch article.

**Evil Cowgirl**

Softie

I hope you didn’t work too hard today.

IMY.

“Mina-ya.” Jihyo calls out. “Hey, I got us out of rehearsals tonight. Chaeng’s a little feverish. It’s nothing serious but we’re taking her to the hospital. So, you know, if you want to go visit Nayeon, you can.”

“Are you serious?”

“They don’t call me GodJihyo for nothing.” Jihyo squeezed Mina’s hands. “You’ve been pouty all day. Just be home before the managers come tomorrow, you know the drill.”

“Thank you, Ji.” She hugs her group leader before the Japanese excitedly walks back to the dance studio to get her things.

**Evil Cowgirl**

I’m on my way to your apartment.

See you soon.

***

“I'm sure they were old photos. They do this all the time. They keep some photos that seemed juicier for future postings. It's all PR.”

“No, she just got her hair colored before we left for Japan. That photo was fairly new.”

“Well, maybe if you check your phone you'd know what happened.” Momo had noticed the Korean’s phone lighting up several times during their meal while Nayeon just ignored it. "I'm sure she's been messaging you."

Nayeon just shrugs and drinks her wine.

“Why are you avoiding her?” Momo frowns. “You of all people know that the only way to resolve anything is by communicating.”

“And you of all people know that I don’t do well with confrontation.”

“Why would there even be a confrontation? You could always just talk very calmly.”

“I know. I know. I just got really jealous, okay. She told me she’s going to tell me if something like this comes up.”

“Well, you’re not giving her the chance to tell you if you're going to keep on ignoring her.”

Nayeon looks at Momo and for the second time today, she’s made a point. “You’re right.”

“Of course I'm right. I'm always right.” Momo swirls her drink

Finally, Nayeon decides to unlock her phone and opens the messages.

“So, I'm thinking maybe we can go to a karaoke bar or something to cap the night off.” Momo suggested. ”What do you think?”

“Yeah, um can we do a rain check on that? She’s on her way to my apartment.” Nayeon just read the last message Mina sent her and immediately grabbed her backpack.

“Oh, of course.”

“Here.” She was handing Momo her card. "Dinner’s on me."

Momo pushed her hand back. “No, I invited you tonight, remember?”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I got it. Now, go get your girl.”

“Thank you.” Nayeon stood up and reached over to give Momo a kiss on the cheek before sprinting away.

_Naynay._

Momo touches the place where the girl had kissed her. She was looking forward to hanging out with Nayeon. Sana’s attempt to keep them apart was so obvious and when the younger Japanese didn’t come to the café today, Momo made sure to take advantage of alone time with the Korean girl.

After all, she did miss her.

And it’s clear that she also missed her chances with her.

Nayeon’s in love with a Japanese girl. And a part of Momo wishes she was that Japanese girl.

***

Nayeon didn’t mean to open the door too dramatically – she just couldn’t wait to see Mina again. She steps inside the apartment to find Dahyun and Mina preparing the table for dinner. Both were obviously surprised of the sudden noise.

After almost tripping while taking her shoes off, she runs to Mina, grabs her face, and pulls her in for a kiss. She didn’t even have the time to remove her jacket and backpack. All she wanted was to be close to her girlfriend as soon as possible.

Their moment lasted for few seconds until Dahyun whined “Oh come on! I am right here?!”

Mina pulls back, blushing. She was so excited to have her lips pressed on Nayeon’s that she had also forgotten about Dahyun being in the room.

Nayeon chuckles and gives Mina another kiss on the cheeks before stepping back to remove her backpack and jacket.

“We really need to set some ground rules about making out when I'm around.” Dahyun crossed her arms.

“Sorry, I just got excited.” Nayeon explains.

“I do not need to hear your reasons.” The younger Korean turns to go back to food she was heating on the stove.

Nayeon turns to Mina who continued the task of setting the table. “This is a surprise.”

“I told you, I love surprising you. You didn’t text me today. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, we just had a lot to do at the café with all those wrong furniture that arrived. Then, Momo took me out to an early dinner.”

“Is that why you taste like wine?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, okay.” Mina nods. Now she feels bad. She can’t help but think that Nayeon purposely avoided her today because she was with Momo.

Dahyun chooses this moment to bring the heated rabeokki on the table. She’s been listening the entire time waiting for her cue to cut into the lover’s moment.

“Tada! It’s ready.”

“Rabeokki!” Nayeon’s excited. “Is that from the same place we went to before?”

“Yeah, you loved their rabeokki.” Mina answered. “I got them to add extra fish cakes too.”

“I’ve been craving for this. Thank you.” Nayeon starts to put some into her bowl.

“I thought you had dinner already?”

“I did, but it’s my favorite rabeokki. And you got for me.”

“Nayeon –“

“We’ll talk later, okay.” She reached to caress Mina’s left cheek.

Mina closed her eyes. She knows she has some explaining to do. Nayeon will also have to explain why she was dodging her texts but those can wait. She knows her girlfriend needs a little bit of time to process the situation.

“Rule number one. No touching in front of my dinner.” Dahyun’s really over them being affectionate in front of her.

***

Nayeon climbs on the bed and kneels in front of Mina. “I really can't find those socks that you left here.” 

“Don’t worry about it.” Mina reaches out to tuck some hair into Nayeon’s ear. “You were avoiding me today.” She carefully said. 

“I was. I saw the photos online. They look like they were taken very recently cause, you know, your blonde hair.”

“Those were last night.”

“I figured.” Nayeon nods. “Those photos looked so… real. Almost romantic.”

“Trust me, there was nothing romantic about any of it.”

“I know.“ She leans forward to bury her face on Mina’s shoulder. “I just realized I wanted to do that too, you know. Pick you up from work. Bring you home after a date night. Kiss you goodnight by your doorstep.” She begins playing with Mina’s fingers. “Then we’re going to argue whether I should leave first or you should go inside the dorm first.”

“I want that too, Baby.” She gently runs her hands up and down Nayeon’s back.

“I really don’t know how to deal with this jealousy shit.”

“Neither do I.”

“Are you still jealous?” She feels Mina’s hot breath on her skin. “Of Momo?”

“Yes.” Mina said it so softly.

Nayeon wouldn’t have heard it if she wasn’t close. She pulls back to look at Mina. “She’s just a friend. Nothing can ever happen between me and her ever again cause I'm crazy about you.”

“I know.” Mina exhaled. “And I'm sorry I didn’t tell you about last night. I guess I just wanted it to be over with as quickly as possible.”

Nayeon nodded before allowing Mina to pull her into a kiss. Feeling Mina’s warm hands on the back of her neck sends shivers all over her body. Her own hands travel from Mina’s side to cup her face. She pulls away from her lips, pushes her to the bed and makes her way to Mina’s delicious neck. She hears a soft moan escapes her girl’s mouth and it turns her on even more.

She pulls Mina’s shirt away to expose her collarbones and starts so softly suck on her weak spot. She was already making her way down to Mina’s chest when she felt the Japanese’s hands pull her up to face her again.

“Baby... Baby, wait.” Mina’s voice was so raspy from having to catch her breath. "It’s that time of the month."

“Oh, right.” Nayeon scoots and positions herself behind her girlfriend. “Big spoon?”

The Japanese girl nods as Nayeon pulls the blanket to cover both of them. She ended up using Nayeon’s right arm using it as a pillow.

“Your arm’s going to hurt in the morning.”

“It’ll be fine. I want to hold you all night.” Nayeon knows that arm’s going to get numb throughout the night but she doesn’t want Mina to move from her comfortable position anymore. “Goodnight, Minari. I love you.”

Mina kissed the arm that’s holding her before drifting off to sleep. _Nayeon loves me. Only me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Tzuyu's birthday :)  
> YAY!
> 
> I feel like I've been writing Minayeon a little too mature in this au.  
> Or am I just stalling the angst, idk.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little update.  
> Unbeta-ed.

Remembering what Sana taught her, Mina led Chaeyoung and their manager into Momo’s café through the back door. The place looks so different from the last time she was here. It’s no longer bare and it now feels pretty cozy and inviting. Though there was still a couple of furniture covered in plastic, the place is coming along really well. 

_Nayeon did all this._ Mina beams with pride. She looks around, searching for Nayeon when Momo walks out of the kitchen.

The café owner immediately spots Mina standing at the door with a shorter girl and a tall man with thick glasses and square jaws. All of them were wearing masks so she figures the other girl must be one of Mina’s members and the man is their manager.

“Mina!” She waves and walks near them. “Nice to see you again.” She smiles at the man who moves a few steps back from the girls, giving them privacy.

Mina bows. “Momo-san. This is my friend, Chaeyoung.”

Chaeyoung also bows. “Hello.”

“Hi there, Chaeyoung-ssi.” Momo turns to Mina. “Are you here for Naynay?”

 _Naynay?_ Mina tries not to show that she doesn’t like how the older woman she still uses that pet name for Nayeon, so she just smiles.

Just then Nayeon walks in from the side entrance carrying a wooden chair. She stops when she sees the three girls.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” Mina smiles sweetly at her.

“Nayeon unnie!” Chaeyoung waves excitedly.

Nayeon puts the chair down before walking to the girls. “Hey. What are you two doing here?” She also noticed the manager they came with. The one who seems to always have a poker face.

“Unnie, we were finally given the green light to redecorate our basement slash make up room slash fitting room slash dance studio.” The small girl laughs, realizing just how much they utilize that part of the dorm. “So, we came to see you.”

“Why?” Nayeon’s genuinely confused.

“Uhm, Momo-san, do you mind if we borrow Nayeon for today?” Mina can’t believe how slow _her_ girl can sometimes be.

The look on Momo’s face also says the same thing about Nayeon. “No, not at all. There’s nothing much to do here anyway.”

“Are you sure?” Nayeon faced the older Japanese.

“Yeah. We can manage without you.” Momo gestures. “And these beautiful ladies need your expertise.”

“Okay.” Nayeon’s a bit hesitant. “I’ll just grab my jacket.”

She gives Mina’s hand a gentle squeeze before walking to the backroom.

Awkward silence.

Chaeyoung had once overheard the name Momo in one of Mina’s conversation with Nayeon and she’s pretty sure she knows why there’s tension between the Japanese ladies.

“Will you serve international pastries and sweets here too?” The Korean rapper breaks the silence. “Like European? American?”

“Oh yes, those will definitely be in the menu.” Momo’s relieved the younger one decided to speak up. “You should come to the opening, if you guys are free of course.”

“Thanks. Maybe we will.”

Nayeon comes back wearing her jacket before another awkward silence takes over. “So, how can I help?”

***

They went to a local furniture shop after Mina and Chaeyoung picked her up from the café to purchase more storage cabinets, then the girls left her at the dorm. They only came back when their schedule for the day had finished. Good thing it was Thursday, the same day that the cleaning lady arrives, so Nayeon had help.

Now Nayeon stands in the middle of basement, scrunching her face while inspecting her own work. She searches for any flaws that others may not see but her four eyes can. It wasn’t really hard redecorating the dorm’s basement. It was basically just reorganizing all the stuff the girl group has for work. But since there are five members, there are hundreds of single things that need to be organized.

She stretched her arms, reaching up for the ceiling. She hears a few cracks on her back, sore from all the lifting she’d been doing for the past six hours. She's still examining the room when the younger members come climbing down the stairs.

“Hi, unnie.” Tzuyu smiles at her. “Do you need any help?”

“Oh, no, no. Thanks. It’s all done anyway.” Nayeon turns to face the young idols who were already sitting on the stairs. "So, what do you guys think?”

“The space’s a lot bigger now.” Chaeyoung answers. “I really like it.”

“Yeah, your stuff just needed to be stored away properly. I also cleared out some of those cabinets behind the make-up vanities and organized your costumes by member.” Nayeon frowns, she hadn’t really asked permission to do that. “That’s okay, right?”

“Of course. Thank you so much for doing this, unnie.”

“Now Jeongyeon unnie’s going to be even more of a neat freak.” Tzuyu chuckles.

They hear a huff from the top of the stairs and see Mina and Jihyo also making their way down to the basement.

“That’s right.” Jihyo said. “And if you leave your things lying around here one more time, I won’t stop Jeongyeon-ah from throwing them out.”

The maknaes laugh but they know better that to test their unnies.

“So, dinner’s ready.” Jihyo claps her hand. “Nayeon-ssi, we made rabeokki. Mina-ya said it was your favorite.”

“Aw, thanks. You guys didn’t have to.”

“It’s no big deal. Consider it our payment since you don’t want to accept our _actual_ payment.” Jihyo holds her hands out to the maknaes to pull them upstairs and leave the couple alone. “We’ll see you upstairs.”

The younger members allowed their leader to drag them, leaving Nayeon and Mina alone.

Mina moves closer to Nayeon. “You tired?”

“Nah, I'm good. What do you think?”

“I love it.” Mina said, staring at her girlfriend. Nayeon in specs, rolled up sleeves and messy bun is quite a view 

Nayeon chuckles and nudges Mina. “Come on, seriously, what do you think?”

Mina smiles and finally looks at the more spacious basement. “It looks great. Everyone already loves the fact that you gave us more space to dance to.”

And there, at the corner of the room near the door is a rack of indoor flowerpots. The house plants are the exact same type like the ones in Mina’s house in Osaka.

“Oh my god. Is that –”

“Yeah. I saw them while you and Chaeng were busy choosing from hundreds of pillows you didn’t end up buying.”

“First of all, how sneaky are you? And second, Chaeng? You call her that now.” Mina raised an eyebrow. “Are you getting chummy with that little beast?”

“I think she’s the coolest member of your group. I'm actually going help her get her first tattoo. Don’t tell her I told you. It’s supposed to be our little secret.”

“What?! No! Jihyo’s going to kill you.”

“Then, don’t tell her too.” Nayeon laughed as she watched Mina walks to the house plants to admire them up close. “I thought it would remind you of your house so you won’t get too homesick.“

”Thank you, I love it.” Mina reached out to touch the plant. “Um, you don’t have classes tomorrow, right?”

“Right.”

“Good. I found this new place by the river. I read that they serve fresh gyeranppang and below zero Okinawa beer. Let’s check it out?”

“Don’t you have rehearsals tomorrow?”

“We do, but it’s at 9 AM. We won’t be out for too long. What do you say?”

“Okay.” Nayeon’s aegyo activated, hugging Mina from behind. “I do miss our evening strolls.” 

“Yay.” Mina exclaimed in her tiny soft voice then she felt Nayeon sway her. “What are you doing?”

“Shh, we’re dancing.” Nayeon whispers and hums a tune Mina’s all too familiar with.

Mina giggles at the thought of her girlfriend knowing one of their songs. Just when she thought the moment couldn’t get any sweeter, Nayeon begins to sing the actual song to her.

_Every day, my time with you isn’t enough  
I was sad again today so I hid my heart  
Stay with me a little longer  
I wanted to say but I couldn’t  
  
More than anything else you’ve seen  
I wanna show you my heart  
I hope you know just that  
I don’t expect anything else, oh baby_

They stayed like that for a few more minutes, just swaying to Nayeon humming the rest of the song.

Mina’s heart is doing somersault inside her chest. She’s pretty sure she fell even more in love with the college student just now. And that scared her too because a part of her still thinks that this happiness she feels with Nayeon won’t last long and that something’s going to happen to mess it all up.

The sound of Jihyo’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

“Dinner’s getting cold, lovebirds.”

***

“I was the worst case of a rich spoiled brat. I would throw fits when things didn’t go the way I wanted them to.” Nayeon laughs at the memory of her younger self. “While you, I bet you were the perfect daughter and a straight A’s student.”

“Yes, I was.” Mina said with a smug. “And, may I add, a very talented ballerina.”

The couple sits at the table situated near a huge tree that perfectly hides them away from the other patrons of the small pojangmacha.

“We were the complete opposite.” Nayeon grins. “But, you know what they say, opposites attract.“

“You never gave off a rich spoiled brat vibe when I met you.”

“I guess losing two of the most important people in my life at seventeen changed me. That cliché thing about life being too short, it’s so true.”

Mina reached over to softly massage Nayeon’s nape.

“You know my last conversation with my parents was actually an argument. They were flying out and they didn’t allow me to go to Mexico for spring break.” Nayeon swallowed the lump in her throat. “A few hours after that, I got a call from my brother telling me that their plane crashed.”

Mina can see Nayeon’s trying to hold back tears.

“That’s why I hate arguments, confrontations.” Nayeon clears her throat. “When you’re angry, you say things and you do things that you’re going to regret forever cause you may never get the chance to take them back.”

Mina now truly understands Nayeon’s tendencies to go MIA when there’s a conflict. “We can’t avoid arguments cause we can’t control certain situations. But I promise to give you your space when you need it.”

“Thanks. You’re not so evil after all.” Nayeon jokes to lighten up the mood. She squeezed Mina’s knee. “I promise not to wander off too far.” 

“You better not.” Mina exhaled.

It’s quite chilly tonight and what she’s about to tell Nayeon makes her feel a bit colder inside. The palm that’s still on the Korean’s nape begins to sweat a little.

”So, um, my parents will be visiting before we leave for Switzerland and they want to meet you. In person.”

Nayeon felt her entire body shivered with goosebumps. She’s pretty sure Mina felt it too with the little _‘Oh’_ from the Japanese girl.

“Did that scare you?”

“A little.” Nayeon frowns. 

“Don’t be. We’re just going to have dinner and maybe talk a little. That’s all.”

“I'm not good in Japanese.”

“It’s okay. They speak English, a little bit of Korean and I can also translate for you.” She starts playing with Nayeon’s ear. “You have nothing to worry about.” 

“You sure?”

“I am. They ask about you everytime I talk to them. They wouldn’t have allowed you to stay at our house if they didn’t already like you.”

”Okay.” _Meeting the parents._ Nayeon takes a swig of her beer. ~~She’s fucking scared~~. _No pressure at all._

***

Twice are in the middle of their dance rehearsals when they hear a soft knock and Bambam silver hair appears, peaking in from the door. They all looked at him as he awkwardly bows.

"Sorry to interrupt. May I excuse Mina-ssi for a moment?”

Their manager, Taesung oppa, nods and Mina shots Jihyo a concerned look. Jihyo just gave her a shrug. Mina follows the boy out of the studio to find out what he wants. Once in the hallway, Bambam hands her a white envelope.

“What’s this?” Mina frowns, opening the envelope.

“Movie tickets.” Bambam answered.

“Um, o-kay.”

“PD-nim gave them to me. He said he’ll free up your schedules tomorrow and we could have a group date.” 

“A group date?”

“Yeah, something like that. He said we should get photographed before my group flies out again. You can bring Jeongyeon unnie and I’ll be bringing Jackson. And we don’t have to be in the same car this time.”

Mina squints at the boy. She’s still a little confused. She didn’t even know that GOT7 has returned from their overseas shows.

“I, um I left my number there. So we can, you know, talk directly. I think it’ll be easier that way.”

“Can I ask you something?” Mina blurts out. There’s actually a question she’s been meaning to ask the boy for a while now. “What are you getting out of this?”

“What do you mean?”

“I'm sure this fake dating thing is an inconvenience to you too.” She shrugs.

“Actually, it’s not. It’ll help with the PR for both our groups and well, for JYP too.” Bambam smiles. “And personally? I thought it’d be great if we get to know each other.”

“What?”

“Look, I know people think I'm an asshole but I'm really not. We never really talk all those times we were dropping you off at the salon and your dorm. I just thought we could be like, real friends, you know. It could make this whole thing easier.”

 _Oh._ She remembers her talk with Jihyo about Daniel. It became easier for those two to hang out without feeling awkward with each other. Maybe it’s not a bad idea to become friends with Bambam too.

“Okay.” 

“Great. So, movies then?”

“I guess so.”

“I’ll make sure Jackson pays for our snacks. Oh and he asks if you can also invite your other friend from MuBank. You really don’t have to but he insisted I ask.” The boy claps his hands. ”Okay. See you.”

Mina scoffs, watching the boy leave. Okay, maybe this whole becoming friends with Bambam _is_ a bad idea.

***

“Mina’s going to kill you.” Sana zooms in on a photo of the idol online while Nayeon arranges the counter top decors on the other side of the bar. “That’s a huge hickey.”

“She got what was coming to her. She had been leaving marks all over my body since day one. And in places I wouldn’t even notice, not until Dubu points them out.” 

“Aw you’ve scarred little Dubu for life. But your placement could’ve been more discreet. She’s a celebrity. She can’t be seen with something like this in public.”

“I didn’t mean for it to be right on her neck. I got carried away I guess.”

“How exactly did you get carried away?” 

“Shut up.“ Nayeon laughs and walks around the bar to join Sana on the other side. “So, what do you think?”

“I think you can still make great coffee in there with or without the ornaments.”

“Come on. It’s not just how you make coffee, it’s how you feel when you make it. And those _ornaments_ help with making you feel good inside. Feelings are what make any food or drink taste heavenly.”

Sana grins at how dramatic Nayeon is.

Nayeon looks at her bestfriend, realizing that Sana was just teasing. She leans on the counter and covers her face. “Just tell me how it looks?”

“It looks really good. The entire place looks really good.” Sana giggles. “Your parents would be so proud of you, Nayeonnie.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.” Sana puts an arm around the Korean and pulls her in for a side hug. “So, she’s in a movie date with her fake boyfriend?”

“Yes. For publicity and stuff.”

“Are you finally getting used to this setup?”

“I don’t have a choice, do I?”

***

Mina just responded to a meme from Nayeon saying ‘ _When you need to hide hickeys_ ’ with a meme that says _‘When you need to hide a dead body’._

**Softie**

I'm so proud of your meme milestone.

**Evil Cowgirl**

And that’s the last message you’ll ever receive from me.

You’re so dead.

Bambam was observing Mina the entire time she was on her phone. They’re standing outside the movie house, waiting for their friends to come out – Mina brought the No Jam Bros with her and Bambam did bring Jackson.

A few people recognized them but thankfully their managers were able to get them through the crowd safely.

“What do you think of the movie?” Bambam asks to break the silence.

“It was so good.” She puts the phone back in her pocket. “I love Marvel movies and this one’s probably the best.”

“I knew you were a Marvel fan. There was even a time when you walked around the company in your Marvel shirts for like a week.”

“I had a Marvel-merch-only phase.” Mina laughs, embarrassed at how she fangirls for this movie series. “That was years ago. You saw that?”

“Yeah. You were pretty hard to miss.” The boy’s smiling so sweetly it makes her feel uneasy. “Maybe we should do this again when we return from our tour? Or maybe go to the arcades? I heard you’re good at games.”

“Ah, yeah sure.” _Remember, we’re trying out to be friendly with this boy._ Mina reminds herself.

“Great, it’s a date. I mean, like a friendly one.” Bambam laughs nervously. “Unless…”

 _Oh fuck, here it comes_.

“Mina-ssi, I think you should know that I’ve wanted to get close to you since the first time I saw you. I always thought you were kind and pretty and really talented.” Bambam runs a hand through his hair.

“Bambam…”

“No, I know I won’t ever be your type and I respect that. If being your friend is the closest I can get, then I’d take it.”

 _What does he mean he knows he’s not my type?_ “Do you know?” Mina carefully asked. “About me?”

“I do. Why do you think PD-nim paired you up with me?” He shrugs. “I was with him that day Lisa came to tell on you. We were going through my contract when she barged into his office. He told me not to tell anyone. And I want you to know that I wouldn’t ever do that.”

“Oh.”

Bambam holds his hand out for a handshake. “You can trust me with your secret, Mina.”

She’s still unsure. But it’s been over four years since her secret was exposed and this boy had apparently kept what he knew to himself.

So she shakes his hand. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I'm actually glad you didn’t bring your friend otherwise this would all be awkward. And I'm really sorry about Jackson. He seemed to really have a huge crush on your girl.” 

“Yeah, well…” Mina chuckles.

In a car parked on the other side of the road, Dispatch is capturing their moment on film.

***

**_DISPATCH:_ **

_It looks like a day off work for JYP artists means going to the movies together._

_See photos of #GOT7 Jackson and Bambam with #TWICE Jeongyeon, Mina and Chaeyoung after watching the latest Marvel movie._

****

**_COMMENTS:_ **

_It looks like a cover up so Bambam and Mina can have a public date._

_He looks so happy holding her hand like that._

_What do we call them? BaMi?_

_OMG did you guys notice that bruise on her neck? IDONTWANNASAYWHATITHINKITIS_

_Looks like they did more than just watch a movie._

_STOP! You guys are crossing the lines. Don’t disrespect them like that._

Nayeon had been reading the comments for almost half an hour now. She feels silly getting jealous looking at the photos when she knows that it was her who put those marks on Mina.

Dahyun comes carrying a bag of sweets and joins her at the corner table she loves to sit at whenever she visit the Minatozaki restaurant.

“Is it weird that I'm jealous of these photos?” Nayeon shoves her phone to her bestfriend’s face.

“Yes. Especially when you know that it’s not real.”

“Will I ever be able to take her out on like, real dates without worrying about the papzz following or something?”

“Hmm.” Dahyun leans back to her seat. “Here’s an idea. Why don’t you bring her to LA?”

“Hmm.”

“I mean, they’re quite big here in Korea but not in the US. Maybe a few Koreans in LA would recognize her but a lot of other people would just look at her and see her as a regular tourist.”

“That could actually work.” Nayeon considers the idea.

“Yeah, and at least she’s going to get used to LA since that’s your hometown.” Dahyun squints at Nayeon. “You’ve talked to her about going back there after college to work for your family’s company, right?”

Nayeon froze. She hadn’t actually thought about that. She had been so distracted by so many things – the café, college, the romantic cloud nine she’s currently floating on. She had completely forgotten that her stay in South Korea is only temporary.

It’s always been easy to read Nayeon based on her facial expressions and Dahyun can see the thoughts running amok in her bestfriend’s head. She didn’t want to cause worries but someone needs to keep Nayeon in check – remind her that LA is still her home.

Then she caught sight of the time.

“Nabong, shouldn’t you be leaving already?”

“Huh?” 

The younger Korean taps on the bag of sweets on the table.

“Oh, right?” Nayeon remembers that she’s actually meeting Mina tonight. “Please thank Auntie for this and tell Sana I’ll see her tomorrow.” She stands up and kisses Dahyun’s forehead, before running out of the restaurant.

 _I'm still a junior._ She tells herself. She still has another year and half before she finish college – plenty of time to discuss this matter with Mina. She’ll worry about this later. For now, she needs to find a cab to bring her to another hidden gem in the city that Mina found for their evening strolls.

***

**Softie**

I'm at the bench near a tree with a red ribbon around it.

Why does it have a ribbon around it?

Mina smiles. She can see the back of a girl sitting on a bench that’s a few feet away from her. She can tell that it’s Nayeon by hoodie the girl’s wearing – it was her hoodie after all.

While Nayeon’s still curiously looking at the ribbon tied around the tree, Mina rushed to surprise her.

“Ya!”

“What the fu—ah fuck.” She almost jumped out of her seat but managed to suppress her scream. She looks around and sees Mina giggling. “What was that for?”

“You know how much I love surprising you.”

“That scared me more than it surprised me, Myoi.”

“There’s no need for family name calling, Im.” Mina sat closely to Nayeon and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. She lets her head rest on the Korean’s shoulders.

Nayeon relaxes and rests her head on Mina’s. It’s been a few days since they last saw each other.

“I missed you, Baby.”

“Me too. Here.” Nayeon hands Mina the plastic bag of sweet treats from the Minatozaki restaurant. “I asked Auntie to make it extra special for you.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet. Thank you.” Mina takes the bag of sweets and gently squeezes Nayeon’s hand.

“How was your day?”

“Tiring. You remember I told you about that CF we made, right? We had to reshoot some scenes tomorrow before rehearsals.”

“Then you shouldn’t stay out too late.”

“I won’t.”

“How was your date?”

Mina knows the girl’s only teasing. She was actually debating whether or not to tell her about Bambam and of his confession. But Nayeon’s finally getting used to their situation and she doesn’t want to bring up another reason for her to get jealous.

And besides, it’s not like the boy would actually make a move on her when he literally just said he’s fine with being friends.

“It was okay. We saw the latest Marvel movie. It would be better if it was with you.”

“Anything is better with me.” Nayeon said with a smug look on her face.

“I won’t argue with that.” Mina chuckles. “Come back to the dorm with me.”

“I can’t. I have an early errand for the café before my classes tomorrow.” 

Mina gives Nayeon the pouty look she knows her girlfriend can’t resist. She’s used it many times already and all those times she got what she wanted. She knows she won when she heard the Korean whined.

“I guess I’ll have to call Momo and move our appointment to after my classes.”

Mina giggles and stands up, pulling Nayeon to start their walk back to the dorm.

***

“You know, dad has connections with other businesses. He won’t think twice of recommending you to them too.”

“I know.” Nayeon’s taking photo of the entire café for her portfolio while Momo watches her. ”Thanks, but I kind of want to finish college first before I do another project.”

“Trust me, you really didn’t need to have a degree for this. You’re a natural. I mean, have you seen what you did with this place?”

Nayeon puts the camera down and takes a look around the café. “It looks great, doesn’t it?”

And it does. The mixture of wooden furniture and earth colored decorations is a warm and soft contrast to the concrete walls and metal beams of the café.

Momo steps closer and wraps her arms around Nayeon’s waist. The older Japanese had always been the touchy feely type of person and Nayeon’s been used to Momo’s PDAs.

“Thank you for giving me this chance.”

“You’re always welcome, Naynay.” She kisses Nayeon’s cheek and had to stop herself from getting carried away – where’s Sana when Momo needs to be put in her place?

Knock knock.

They turn around and see a man standing at the open front door. Nayeon can recognize this man anywhere.

Momo lets go of the younger Korean and walks towards the man who just entered her café. “Hello, may I help you?” She definitely remembers him too.

“Good afternoon.” The tall manager bows. “I didn’t mean to barge in. The front door was open so I just walked in. You are Miss Hirai, right?”

“Yes. I own this place. How can I help you?”

“Let me formally introduce myself, I’m Taesung, a talent manager from JYP Entertainment. And I would like to know if you would be open to host a small event here at your café for some of our employees.”

“Oh, ah, thank you for your interest but we haven’t officially opened yet.”

“I can see that. The event would be in December anyway. We just want to get everything arranged and settled before the holiday season so there won’t be any need to rush anything.”

“That makes sense.” Momo pulls out her business card from her organizer and hands it to the man. “Please send me the details, my contact information are in there. And we’ll see what we can do.”

“We will definitely be in touch with you, Miss Hirai. Thank you.” The tall manager takes the card and bows before facing Nayeon. “May I also speak with you, Nayeon-ssi?"

“Huh? Uh sure, I guess.”

Nayeon started to feel uncomfortable when Momo walked away to go to her office, leaving her with the tall, poker faced manager.

“Nayeon-ssi.”

“Yes. Taesung oppa, sir.”

“First of, I would like to thank you for helping out with the redecoration of the dorm’s basement. It’s now easier to find things in that room.”

“No worries. It was my pleasure to help out.”

“We really appreciate it. And finally, we’d like for you to stop seeing Mina.”

“Excuse me?” 

“We have many projects lined up for the girls and she doesn’t need to be distracted at this point of her career. She needs to be 100% focused on her group’s activities and goals.”

Nayeon furrows her brows as Manager Taesung steps closer to her.

“They waited for over five years before they got their debut. They’re finally reaping the fruits of their hard work but if words got out about Mina, it would be the end of their careers, their dreams. And I know you wouldn’t want to see her fail just because other people cannot understand what you two have.”

Nayeon’s just speechless. She can’t believe that this is happening again.

“You’re a smart girl, Nayeon-ssi. We trust that you’ll be rational about this and would do the right thing. Have a great rest of the day.” He bowed before walking away, leaving a stunned Nayeon.

“What the fuck was that?” Momo, who had been eavesdropping, walked out of her office.

Nayeon just turned to her and tried to say something but nothing came out of her mouth. She’s not even sure what just happened.

***

_“Hello? Mina?”_

_“Hi, Sana-san."_ Mina is in their service, waiting for the other members so they can all go back to the dorm. It’s raining tonight and her plan to sneak out is already ruined. _”Is Nayeon with you? She’s not answering her phone.”_

 _“Uh, yeah. We had a little drinking sesh tonight and she’s uh, she’s passed out.”_ Sana struggles to keep her phone tucked between her shoulder and her cheek while she removes Nayeon’s shoes.

_“Soju?”_

_“Yeah.”_

_“Do you need help with her?”_

_“Oh, no, no, no, we’ll be fine. We’re actually back at the apartment now.”_

Mina hears a voice from Sana’s background. _"When did she get so heavy? Naynay, take your shirt off, sweetie.’_

_“Is that Momo?”_

_“Yeah, she’s with us.”_ Sana sits on the bed, cradling Nayeon’s feet. _“Mina, don’t worry about Nayeonnie. We got this. I'm sure she’ll message you tomorrow. Okay?”_

_“Okay.”_

_“Okay. Bye bye.”_ Sana ends the call without waiting for Mina’s response. She puts her phone back in her pocket and helps Momo remove the unconscious girl’s pants before tucking her in under thick blankets. “I think Mina doesn’t know.”

“Of course she doesn’t.” Momo scoffed. “How convenient.”

Sana watched as the older woman lovingly strokes Nayeon’s hair. She would’ve called Momo out if it was any other day, but not tonight. After she found out what the manager did, she would also smothered Nayeon with all the affection in the world.

The door opens and Dahyun smiles at them. “I made us tea.”

The sound of rain water hitting the windows downstairs are so loud they barely heard what the younger Korean said.

“Looks like a storm is coming.” Dahyun leans on the door.

“Yeah.” Sana breathes out, massaging her temple. She looks at her bestfriend, passed out, lightly snoring under the covers. Yes, a storm is coming. It’s going to come pouring down, hard, and she knows there’s no way she can stop it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A storm IS coming.
> 
> >_<


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When it rains, it pours.
> 
> >_<

The hours between two and four in the afternoon are the best time to visit the JYP Cafeteria. Not only would you find less people but the food would be freshly cooked since the lunch time rush would’ve wiped the buffet tables clean – idols eat and they eat a lot. 

Jihyo enters the cafeteria to get some snack when she spots Mina with Bambam at one of the table. She watched as Mina laughs at something the boy said. The girl group leader was already paying for her snacks when the boy saw her. He waves and Mina turns around to wave at her too.

 _That’s strange._ Jihyo nods at them.

“Hey, did you just finish your parts?” Mina asks when Jihyo joins them.

“Yeah, ChaeYu’s doing the backing vocals now. And Jeongyeon-ah’s in her dance class.”

“You girls still take turns with your breaks?” Bambam chimes in.

“Not really.” Mina shrugs. “But we’re a little short on time since we’re leaving soon.”

“Right.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be overseas?” Jihyo points to the boy, opening the sandwich she got from the snack bar. 

“Well, we’re actually flying out today.” His phone buzzed. “And, that’s my cue. See you in a few days.” He bows and runs out of the cafeteria.

Mina can feel her friend eyeing her. “What?”

“I know you went to the movies together and all, but are you like, friends now?”

“I think so.”

“What changed?”

Mina leans in to the table. “He told me he likes me. Well, liked, he used to like me when I was a new trainee.” She said quietly, almost like a whisper. “And he knows about my…” She gestures. “You know.”

“Oh my god, why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“We were busy with work and you’re always with Daniel when we don’t have a schedule. Are you two dating for real now?”

“I'm not sure.” The pink haired idol takes a bite of her sandwich. “So, wait, does he know about Nayeon?”

“Yes.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. Hey Ji, do you think it’s too soon for my parents to meet Nayeon?”

“Ah, that’s right they’re coming next week right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, do you want them to meet her?”

“I do. I really want them to like her too.”

Jihyo gives her a reassuring smile. “I don’t think that’s something you have to worry about. I'm sure your parents are going to like her. Your girlfriend’s very charming, you know.”

“I know but please don’t tell her that.” Mina chuckles.

She knows how Nayeon can win over anyone but it’s different this time. It’s her parents. And Nayeon’s the very first girlfriend she’s ever going to introduce to them.

***

Momo checks the list of the pastry deliveries from Japan while Nayeon stacks up plates in the cupboards at the coffee bar. She watched as the Korean pulls her phone out, looks at the screen and returns it back to her pocket.

The older Japanese signed the last delivery papers, thanked the delivery team and then walked to where Nayeon is.

“You know you don’t have to do that. Your job here’s already done.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t have afternoon classes and my bestfriends are preparing for their monthly Minatozaki-Kim family dinner so I'm stuck with you until like 7 PM.” 

“Excuse me. It’s more like _I'm_ stuck with you. You really don’t have to be here.”

“Don’t you want me here?” Nayeon said in aegyo.

Momo’s not really a big fan of aegyo and so she fake gagged. “Eww. Not if you’re going to be like that.”

“Whatever.” Nayeon ignored the older Japanese’s reaction. “I need a distraction.” She raised a finger. “And before you say anything, no, I haven’t told Mina about what happened here the other day.” 

“Why?”

“Because she has a lot on her plate right now. Comeback, flying to Switzerland, her parents coming to visit.”

“So, you’re just not going to tell her?”

“Yeah. No. I'm not going to tell her.” Nayeon closed the cupboards.

“I can’t believe college turned you into an idiot.”

“Hey, that’s strike two. One more and you’re out.” Nayeon pouts.

“Just tell her what that manager told you. I'm sure she can do something about it.”

“No, you don’t understand.” Nayeon leans back on the counter, scratching her nose. “I don’t want her to feel like she has to choose between me and her career. Cause the most logical choice _is_ her career and I don’t want to lose her.”

Momo moves closer and grabs Nayeon’s hands. “You won’t lose her. And I’m sure she wouldn’t want to lose you too. You’re a once in a lifetime, Naynay.”

Nayeon scoffs. “Oh no, don’t use that line on me please.”

“Why not?” Momo nudges her on the shoulders. ”I love that line. You used to say that to me all the time.”

“Well, it’s true. You are a once in a lifetime, Momoring.”

The older Japanese looks straight into Nayeon’s eyes. She knows she’s not supposed to look at the younger girl like this anymore. She doesn’t have the rights anymore – she never actually really had the rights to, but she just can’t help it.

Even after moving away, Momo never forgot about Nayeon. She didn’t even think twice of boarding the plane back to South Korea when she got the opportunity because she thought that this may be her chance – she found out though Sana’s online posts that Nayeon’s back in Seoul.

 _Oh shit._ Nayeon recognized the familiar look on Momo’s face. She used to crave this from the older Japanese when she was younger. She’d go crazy everytime they’d have moments like this. But that was all in the past. Her heart screams another name now.

The moment was ~~thankfully~~ cut short by soft knocks.

Momo immediately backed away from Nayeon, looking at their unexpected guest.

There, by the back door, stands Mina holding a large wet umbrella on one hand and bags of take outs on the other.

Nayeon almost tackled Mina. She didn’t realize how much she wanted to see her girlfriend.

“Oh!” Mina said in a surprised tone, slightly losing her balance. “Hello to you too.”

“You’re here.” Nayeon whispered as she buried her face on Mina’s neck and kissed the skin there.

Momo smiled at their guest from where she was still standing. She has to accept the fact that she lost her chance and now Nayeon’s once in a lifetime is Mina.

***

The three of them had dinner together and it went surprisingly well. Mina and Momo talked about the café and Twice and Nayeon preferred it that way. The two Japanese girls even talked about dogs – it turns out Momo had just recently signed up to adopt one that she plans to raise in Seoul.

Nayeon swears these two were subtly one-upping one another – which is much better than talking about the nature of her relationships with each of them, right?

Momo excused herself after she had finished her meal to call her father, giving the couple their privacy. And to be honest, she really just wanted to get out the picture.

“My parent’s booked dinner the night before our group leaves.” Mina rests her head on the Korean’s shoulder while being fed ice cream from a cup they’re sharing. “You’d be there, right?”

“Ah, what day is that?”

“Thursday.”

“Yeah, okay.” Nayeon takes a spoonful of the chocolate chip ice cream for herself.

“Are you still nervous about meeting them?”

“Of course. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for that.”

“Just be yourself. Your smart, charming, pretty self.”

“Right. Like this?” Nayeon puts the ice cream cup on the table, cocks her head to the side and pulls out her aegyo card.

 _This girl is going to be the death of me._ Mina laughed as she pinches her girlfriend’s cheeks.

Nayeon used to hate this aegyo thing whenever Sana does it to her and Dahyun, but if she gets to see Mina’s gummy smiles she’d do it everyday. _Please let me do this everyday._

“Anyway, Taesung oppa helped get the reservations and he offered to pick you up –”

“Don’t!” Nayeon almost screamed. “I mean, I'm sure I can get there by myself.”

“Okay.” Mina leans back to the soft fluffy booth and looks at Nayeon who’s already finishing their ice cream. “I'm excited for Switzerland but I'm really going to miss you. Can we Facetime everyday?”

“You’re there for work, Minari. Who knew you’d be so clingy, huh?”

“Only to you.” Mina bit her lip. “Don’t drink too much while I’m away.” It’s more of a question really.

“I won’t. I can’t let my friends undress me again when I'm drunk.”

Mina reached out to poke her girlfriend’s nose, but Nayeon caught it and kissed her palm instead. She lets her lips linger on Mina’s skin for a few seconds before letting out a heavy sigh. She positions herself sideways on her seat to face Mina, not letting go of the Japanese’s hand.

“I uh, I have to tell you something.” She thinks of the best way to say it. She needs to tell Mina but she fears that her girlfriend’s feisty side would come out and that may affect her other members too.

“Yeah?” Mina, on the other hand, starts to feel her heart racing. She arrived earlier just time to hear Nayeon call Momo _a once in a lifetime_.

Mina knew about their past and her heart tells her that Nayeon is now hers. But sometimes, the voice in her head is much louder than that of her heart. She tries to calm her nerves but prepares herself for the worse.

 _You can do this. Just tell her._ “Uh, your manager came here the other day and kind of inquired about setting up a holiday party here in December.” Nayeon starts.

“The year-end party, yeah.”

“Yeah, so he came and uh –“ Nayeon clears her throat. “The café’s opening is on Friday. I know that’s when you guys fly out, but would you like to drop by? Of course, we can discreetly get you in through the back door. I mean, only if you want to?”

 _You choked. You fucking choked._ The Korean wants to kick herself.

“Oh.” Mina released the breath she was holding. “I’ll talk to Taesung oppa about it. He’s the one who normally manages our schedules.”

“Okay.”

Mina smiles and throws her arms around Nayeon to pull her in for a tight hug. She’s relieved that it was only about the café opening. But there’s still a feeling that there’s something Nayeon’s not telling her.

***

Mina was given two days off work before they leave for Switzerland so she can spend time with her parents. This meant that she needed to finish all her scheduled recordings, hair and nails salon visits, dance and singing lessons and her mandatory medical exams. All those happened in just five days. That’s also five days of not seeing Nayeon in person. 

With their manager Taesung, Mina picked her parents up from the airport and went straight to the hotel. They’ll be staying in Seoul for two nights before flying out to the US to attend another medical convention. Mina plans to spend the day with them shopping and going around Hongdae.

“You look good with blonde hair.” Dr. Myoi smiles at his daughter.

“It was a lighter shade than expected.” Mina chuckles. She sits on the couch of her parent’s hotel suite, waiting for them to get ready. “Is there anything specific you want to do today?”

“You know I’d just follow your mother around so let’s just let her decide.” Her father laughs then goes to sit beside her on the couch. “How are you?”

“I'm good. Just a little tired but I'm so glad you guys are here.”

“Mi-chan, this boy that the news are talking about, are you really seeing him?” He carefully asked Mina. 

“No, Dad. It was just a PR strategy for my group. Publicity for our upcoming comeback.”

Her father just nods. “And your uh, your girlfriend, Nayeon, she will be joining us for dinner tomorrow, right?”

“Yes. If that’s still okay with you.”

“Of course. It would be nice to meet her.”

This is a huge deal.

Mina knows how her father struggled with the idea of his only daughter liking girls – how her father tolerated it but never really gave her any type of confirmation of him accepting it.

This is the confirmation Mina had been waiting for.

Dr. Myoi can see how his daughter’s lips quiver as she holds back tears so he did what any father would do – he engulfs Mina in a loving embrace. “Mi-chan, you know your father’s not good with words but I hope you know how proud I am, that you’re my daughter.”

“Thank you, Dad.”

***

Since the sun finally came out of hiding today, Nayeon decided to work on her project at their usual spot in the school ground. Designing Momo’s café is a great experience because it gave her more ideas for her school project that she decided to revise everything.

As usual, she has her air pods on and was changing her playlist when someone sat across her. She was expecting Dahyun but was really confused to see Manager Taesung smiling at her.

“Good afternoon, Nayeon-ssi.”

“What are you doing here?” She paused on her playlist.

“Mina-ya told me about your invitation for the café opening and we’d like to thank you, but the girls won’t be able to attend. As you already know, they will be flying out on that day.”

Nayeon looks at him suspiciously. “You didn’t go through all the troubles of getting into the campus just to decline an invitation.”

“You are a very smart girl.” Manager Taesung smiles. “So, I trust that you’ll know not to join Mina’s family dinner tomorrow evening. Dispatch will be there, waiting, and we don’t want them to see her with you again. You can tell her you’ll be tied up with something more important.” He suggested.

“And what could be more important than her?”

“You’ll come up with something.”

“Look, Mr. Taesung, you’re maybe scary to other people but not to me. So, if you don’t mind, I was in the middle of something before you came. Have a safe drive back to your company.”

She didn’t wait for a response when she put her airpods back on and turned her attention back to her laptop.

The manager scoffed before standing up to leave.

After a few minutes, when she’s sure he’s out of sight, Nayeon drops the act and exhales. This is getting out of control and her nose is getting too itchy these days.

***

Nayeon wakes up to the feeling of soft lips pressed on her face and smiles when she hears giggles. She’s gotten used to the Japanese girl sneaking into her apartment in the middle of the night to surprise her with morning kisses.

Mina enjoys mornings like this – mornings when she didn’t have to rush to get back to the dorm. She could just watch her girlfriend’s peaceful slumber until she wakes up. She can stay in bed together with Nayeon until both their tummies would rumble and scream for breakfast.

“Have I told you your breath stinks in the morning?”

“Yeah, well.” Nayeon pulls Mina down. She cups her girlfriend’s face with one hand as they kiss, her other hand travels down the Japanese’s back.

Mina lets out a moan when she feels a hand squeezing her butt. She pulls back a little after nibbling on Nayeon’s lower lip. “Are you excited for tonight?”

“You should know by now that tonight’s the second scariest moment of my life.” Nayeon groaned. “Are you really sure about it?”

“Yes. My dad wants to know your wine preferences.”

“Really? Wow.”

“I know. Wow.”

Now Nayeon’s even more scared. She knows about Dr. Myoi’s take on Mina’s sexuality and knowing that the Japanese man’s curious about her makes her so nervous.

Mina felt Nayeon’s heartbeats banging on her chest. _Oh she’s really nervous_.

“You’ll be fine, Baby. Calm this down.“ Mina placed her hand on the Korean’s chest and started to whisper ‘I love you’ softly on her girlfriend’s ear.

That seemed to work because Nayeon started to breathe calmly. She kissed her favorite mole on Mina’s exposed forehead, wrapping her arms tighter around the Japanese’s warm body.

_Ah, mornings like this._

Then her phone rings.

Without letting go of Mina, Nayeon pats the side table with her right hand, blindly searching for her phone. She didn’t look at the screen before answering it.

_“Hello?”_

_“NAYEON! COME DOWN HERE! RIGHT FUCKING NOW! FUCK!”_

The Korean girl would’ve jumped out of the bed if Mina wasn’t lying on top of her. _“Hey, woah! Calm down. It’s too early to be shouting profanities.”_

_Momo H: “I don’t fucking care what time of the fucking day it is! Come here right fucking now!”_

Mina heard the screaming from the phone and recognized Momo’s voice.

_“Okay. Okay. Okay.”_ Nayeon slowly sits up. _“What happened?”_

_Momo H: Someone fucking tried to break in and it’s a fucking mess in here! Just. Please.”_

_“Okay. Okay. I’ll be there in few. Just please calm down.”_ She exhaled as she drops the phone on the bed.

Mina also sits up and tucks a few strands of Nayeon’s hair on her ear. “You need to go.”

“I need to go.” Nayeon nods. “I can still make us coffee.”

“Okay.”

Nayeon kisses her before getting off the bed.

 _What could go wrong tonight?_ Mina drops her body back on the bed, sighing.

***

To say that Nayeon was horrified is an understatement.

The front doors and the windows of the café look like they’ve gone through a tornado tunnel and didn’t survive. Pieces of shattered glasses and broken wooden planks are scattered all over the floor. A few tiles were also destroyed. It’s truly heart breaking. 

“Did the CCTV catch who did it?”

Momo slumps on one of the corner booths, eyes swollen from crying, drinking straight from a whisky bottle. “Yeah, but it was still dark when it happened and they were wearing masks.” She starts to cry again. “I'm doomed! I'm fucking doomed! The invitations were all sent out. Dad’s arriving tomorrow morning. Mom’s going to be here tonight. I'm not going to hear the end of this.”

Nayeon joins the hysterical Japanese on the booth. “We’ll fix this, okay. We’ll fix this. There will be an opening tomorrow. You’re not doomed.”

“How?! The contractors are all gone. Where are we going to find people who can help?! I still need to do an orientation with the staff!” Momo screamed out of frustration before dropping her head on the table to cry some more.

Nayeon hugged her. “Dahyun’s dad may have connections. I’ll get Sana too. You better get ready for your orientation.”

“I don’t know if I can do this.”

“Yes, you can. You’re Hirai Momo. The girl that interrupted an important board meeting to ask her father what kind of cheese goes well with white wine just to prove a point.”

She pulls Momo to sit up straight, cups her face and wipes the tears with her thumbs. “The Hirai Momo I know never backs down from a challenge. You remember how much we used to love cramming for school right? This is just like that.”

Momo’s half laughing, half sobbing.

“We’ll get this done. I promise. Okay?”

Momo finally agrees in a broken voice. “O-kay.”

“Okay.” Nayeon leans in to kiss the shaking Japanese’s cheeks. A thought crossed her mind on who may have done the damage, but now’s not the time to play detective. She needs to move fast. Not only is the Hirai’s name at stake here but hers too.

***

_Softie: "It’s a disaster. The police had been here already. Though to me, it doesn’t feel like someone was actually going to rob the café cause nothing was missing. It’s like they just wanted to destroy it.”_

_“I just saw the picture you sent me. It’s awful.”_ Mina stands a few feet away from her parents who are shopping at a jewelry store in Hongdae as she talks to Nayeon on the phone.

 _Softie:“Ugh, it looks so much worse in person.”_ Nayeon scratches her nose. She’s been doing this a lot lately because of stress. _"Dahyun’s dad helped us with his connections so we’re just waiting for the new materials now.”_

_“How’s Momo? Is she going to postpone tomorrow’s opening?”_

_Softie: "No. You know how Japanese dads are when it comes to family businesses, right? She wouldn’t want to disappoint hers.”_

_“Yeah. Do you think it’ll be ready for tomorrow?”_

_Softie: "I honestly don’t know. And my family name’s also on the line here so, I’m really hoping we can finish everything even if we have to pull an all-nighter.”_

Mina winced. _“I don’t mean to be insensitive, but you’re still coming for dinner, right?”_

_Softie: “Minari, I’ll do my best here. Okay?”_

_“Okay.”_

_Softie: “Finally! The materials just arrived. Listen, I’ll call you later, okay? I love you. Bye.”_

_“Bye.”_ Mina looks so disappointed. She knows how much this café means to Nayeon. It’s the latter’s way of honoring her parents and the name they have established for their brand.

Is it selfish of her to want Nayeon to prioritize her today?

***

Nayeon and Dahyun join the labor workers in recreating the café entrance and windows. The interior designer projected that it may take more than ten hours for them to finish everything but she hopes they can do it in a much shorter time.

She’s in the back of the café burning some woods through the process of shou sugi ban with Dahyun, while Sana helps keep Momo focused with the staff orientation at the café loft.

“What do you think?” Nayeon wipes the sweat off her forehead.

“I actually think it looks better than the original door.” Dahyun examines the wood. “Maybe this is the silver lining of what happened.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Nayeon motions for the younger to come closer. “I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“I think I know who did this.”

Dahyun furrowed her brows, curious.

“Manager Taesung came to see me again at the uni yesterday. He wanted me to ditch dinner tonight with Mina’s parents and basically told me to do something else instead. 

“What? Did he threaten you in any way?”

“Not really. But I have this nagging feeling that he’s got something to do with this.”

“I wouldn’t be surprise if he did. Remember when we told you how scary these managers can be, they can do stuff like this.” She looks at Nayeon, raises an eyebrow. “You haven’t told her about it yet, huh?”

“Honestly, I don’t know if I should even tell her at this point.”

“Well, you should tell her. And you should get going too. You still need to take a shower before you go to dinner.”

“Ah shit, what time is it?”

“It’s almost six.” Dahyun looks at her wrist watch.

Nayeon takes her phone out and sees twenty messages from Mina. Instead of reading each one of them she just decided to call her instead.

One of the hired workers appears and calls her out. “Nayeon-ssi, the tiles they delivered were the wrong sizes. They’re too small.”

“What?” Nayeon’s going to get a migraine.

“ _Hey.”_ Mina answers on the other line. “ _Are you on your way?”_

 _“Hi. I'm still here at the café.”_ She answers Mina, calming her tone. _“I think I’m going to be a little late for dinner.”_

“Nabong.” Dahyun calls out while checking the boxes of tiles. “What are we going to do?”

_“Hold on, Minari."_ Nayeon gestures. “Dubu, can you check how many tiles are in one box?”

“Ah, ten.” 

“Ten? Oh fuck.” Nayeon is so frustrated at this point.

_“Baby?”_ Mina carefully calls for her attention on the other line.

_“Oh, sorry. So yeah, I’ll be a little late. I’ll call you as soon as I leave here, okay.”_

_“Okay. Be careful there.”_

_“I will. I love you.”_

_“I love you too.”_

Nayeon checks the tiles herself. _This is a nightmare._ She’s not even sure what to do anymore.

***

“How long are you going to be in Switzerland?”

“Six days.” Mina answers her mother.

“Are you staying in just one place?” Mrs. Myoi tries to keep the conversation going.

“Ah, no they planned a multi city tour for us. For Twice TV content. Mom, we’re visiting the Charlie Chaplin house. Do you want me to buy you something from there?”

“Anything will do, sweetie.”

Mina smiles as she takes a sip of her wine. She looks at her father who’s quietly listening to the conversation. Dinner’s almost done. Mina discreetly checks her phone for the nth time already. Still no new message from Nayeon.

“Mi-chan, it’s okay.”

“Dad, I’m really sorry. She really wanted to meet you but she got stuck at work.”

“Work? But she’s still in college?”

“She is. But she just finished designing for a new Japanese café. There was some accident today that’s why they needed her back there.”

“What Japanese café?”

“Peaches.”

“Peaches? The Hirai’s?”

“Yes.” Mina nods, curious as to how her father knew the last name of the owners. 

“Dear,” Dr. Myoi turns to his wife. “Didn’t you represent the Hirai’s just recently?” 

“Oh, right. And they did invite us for the opening of their Korean branch. I believe it’s their daughter's own franchise. You must’ve already met her. Momo?” 

“I have.” Mina frowns. “Wait, you’re invited to their cafe’s opening tomorrow?” 

“Yes, but our flight’s almost at the same time so we’re not sure.” Mrs. Myoi shrugs.

Mina nods. Why? Why did she not see this as a possibility? Her mother represents most of the large companies back in Osaka.

Dr. Myoi looks back at her daughter. He knows how important tonight was for her. “Mi-chan, there will always be another chance for us to meet Nayeon.” He reaches over to squeeze her hand. “Now go finish your dessert.” 

Mina and her mother exchange knowing looks. Tonight would’ve been really perfect if Nayeon had showed up. 

A buzz on her phone signals a new message and Mina thought it was the one she was waiting for. But instead it displays, _‘New Message: Taesung Oppa: New Photos Received’_.

***

The Trio arrives at Nayeon’s apartment after a very tiring day at the café. They did it. They finished fixing the café’s destroyed exteriors and Sana used her family’s connection to make sure someone will be guarding the café all night.

It’s almost 1 AM and Nayeon knows she has a lot of explaining to do. She lost track of time and wasn’t able to return Mina’s calls and messages. She was so focused working on the café that she didn’t even realize her phone had died. 

Dahyun was the one who opened the door and was the first person to see Mina sitting by the dining table. 

“Mina!”

Mina gives her a small smile and quickly changes her expression when her eyes lands on Nayeon.

“H-Hey.” Nayeon was not expecting Mina to be waiting for her at home. “How long have you been waiting here?

“Not too long.” Mina answered very _very_ coldly.

Tension is in the air.

Sana decided to cut it. “Um, Dubu and I will be resting now. Goodnight, Mina. Nabong.” She bowed before pulling Dahyun to the latter’s room.

Nayeon hesitated a little before sitting across Mina. “I'm sorry I didn’t make it to dinner and my phone died.”

Sighs.

“I really wanted you to be there.”

“I know. I'm so sorry. It’s just, I can’t leave the café without making sure everything’s perfect for tomorrow. You know it’s more than just my name on the line here. It’s my parent’s brand too. You understand that, right?” 

“I do. And I'm really trying here, I am. I know how important your parents are to you. But my parents are important to me too.”

The Korean feels anger radiating from the girl across her – the way Mina’s voice breaks but in a deeper tone, not her usual soft one.

“Can we, can we talk about this tomorrow before you leave? When we both cooled down.”

 _Of course, Nayeon would rather delay this._ Mina closed her eyes, holding back her anger.

“I'm tired and I had a little bit of drink.” Nayeon said, rubbing her forehead.

 _Drink?_ That’s it. Mina lets go. “So you’d rather drink with Momo than see my parents who were so eager to meet you?”

 _Not this again._ Nayeon groans. _Breathe. Hold it in._

“Is that it?” Mina pressed on. “Huh?!” 

“If they were so eager to meet someone why didn’t you just introduce your boyfriend? He’s back in the country, right?!”

_Should’ve held it in, Nayeon._

Mina stares at her, appalled. “That was low. Just say that you wanted to spend more time with her than me. You don’t have to lie anymore.”

“What?” Now the Korean’s confused. “What are you talking about?” 

Mina unlocks her phone and pushed it towards the Korean.

The photo gallery is opened and Nayeon looks at the screen. She gasps when she sees a picture of her and Momo. It looks like a paparazzi photo – the same kinds Dispatch would leak online.

Mina reaches over to swipe on the screen and shows her more photos. A photo of Nayeon and Momo dancing outside a bar, a photo of Momo hugging Nayeon from behind at the Minatozaki restaurant, and the last one shows Nayeon kissing Momo – from the angle it was taken, it looks like they were really _kissing_ when Nayeon knows that it was that morning when she was comforting a crying Momo.

“What the –“ Nayeon keeps telling herself to calm down. “Are you having me followed?!”

“No! I didn’t know. They just sent me those.”

“And you believe these pictures?!”

“I don’t want to! But lately, you’ve been acting strange. I feel like you’re hiding something from me.”

Nayeon carefully slides the phone back to Mina. She takes deep breaths. Maybe this is the chance she was waiting for. _It’s time to tell her._

“I think you should stop seeing me.”

“What?!” Mina was taken aback.

“I think we should break up.”

 _No. No. No. No. No_

“Is this because of Momo?!” Hot tears start rolling down the Japanese’s flustered cheeks.

“God, no! I already told you, she’s a friend. Nothing more. But if you still want to believe what those pictures tell you then go on.” Nayeon throws her hands up in frustration.

Mina’s having a hard time breathing. Her nose’s clogged. She feels a lump in her throat. Her vision’s getting blurry.

She was expecting Nayeon to explain, to defend herself against those photos, to argue with her about how wrong it was that their managers had taken upon themselves to spy on her.

But this, _a break up,_ this had never crossed her mind.

“W-Why?” Mina struggles to get a word out. “Why are you d-doing this?”

 _I don’t want to._ Nayeon fights the urge to reach over and wipe Mina’s tears. 

Mina waits for a response.

 _But this is for your own good._ Nayeon fights the urge to wrap her arms around her and tell her that she didn’t mean it.

One minute.

 _This is for your career._ Nayeon fights the urge to take back what she just said.

Three minutes.

 _This is for you._ Nayeon kept her eyes glued to the table, avoiding Mina’s gaze.

Only the sound of Mina’s restrained sobbing and Nayeon’s heavy breathing can be heard. 

Five minutes.

 _Fuck this._ Mina snatched her phone away and ran out of the apartment, slamming the door.

Once the door closed, Nayeon bangs her fists on the table. She’s not sure if it was just her imagination but she did hear a crack. A crack on the table or a crack on her wrist, she doesn’t care. _I just broke up with Mina_. 

Then she lets herself cry.

Her bestfriends, who were peeking through the bedroom door and eavesdropping the entire time, run out to console her.

***

_Fuck you, Nayeon. Fuck you, Momo. Fuck all of you._ Mina sits by a little run down bar. She feels so small in her usual large hoodie as she downs her 4th shot of tequila. Or was it her 6th?

“Hey.” Bambam finally found Mina sitting at the corner of the bar.

“Hey, I'm sorry I didn’t want to call Jihyo.” Mina slurred. “And I definitely didn’t want to go back to my parents' hotel.”

“Don’t worry about it.” The boy takes the seat beside her. “What happened?”

“She broke up –“ She’s drunk but she still tries to stop herself from crying in public. “– with me.”

“Wow. I’m sorry.” He looks around, making sure no one had recognized both of them. “Look, we shouldn’t be here. People might see you like this.”

“Hey.” Mina pokes the boy’s shoulders. “We’re friends now, right?” 

“Yeah, of course.”

 _Don’t do this. Bad idea._ She throws her head back, finishing the last of her tequila shots before pulling the worried boy up from his seat. “Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who's been following this AU.  
> I appreciate all the feedback and I enjoy interacting with you in the comment box.  
> Cinderella is meant for my own Minayeon heart, I know I said that before, I just want to say that it's really fun going through this experience with all of you.  
> Yay.
> 
> So, I know I said I wouldn't angst them too much (and I swear this is not too much) but a little drama wouldn't hurt right?


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The morning after...
> 
> A short update.  
> Still unbeta-ed.
> 
> >_<

_When you’re angry, you say things and you do things that you’re going to regret forever…”_

_“… I promise to give you your space when you need it.”_

It didn’t take a lot for Sana and Dahyun to calm Nayeon down. The girl was beyond exhausted, physically and emotionally – from the café getting trashed to finding out that she was being photographed with the café owner to look like they’re having a secret affair; from Manager Taesung’s unexpected uni visit to meeting Mina’s parents. Everything was overwhelming.

But they still decided to take turns in staying up all night just to make sure that Nayeon won’t disappear again. As much as they understand their bestfriend’s thought process, they don’t want her to be alone to deal with her feelings.

Nayeon was too drained. She can’t remember what time she fell asleep but it was still dark when she woke up on the couch with her bestfriends cuddled up on the floor, sleeping.

 _I fucked up._

How did she go from being scared of losing Mina to breaking up with her? Just like the last time she allowed anger to take over and ended up saying things she really didn’t mean. Just like the last time with her parents. 

_And then I lost them._

Maybe Mina didn’t really know about the pictures. Maybe Mina was really upset about missing dinner and not meeting her parents. Maybe Mina’s still really jealous of Momo. Maybe I was too harsh on her last night. Maybe I should’ve just told her about their manager. Maybe I can still fix this.

And that’s why she finds herself calling Chaeyoung at four in the morning.

_I can’t lose Mina too._

***

Mina fidgets on the passenger seat of Bambam’s car as he drives her back to their dorm. She’s never felt more ashamed of herself. There was no acceptable reason for what she did except for the fact that she was angry, _very_ angry. 

Her mind keeps going back to the moment she heard Nayeon say Momo is a _once in a lifetime._ She keeps seeing the suggestive photos of them together. She still feels the disappointment when Nayeon chose Momo over meeting her parents.

_It's always Momo._

She wanted to do something to spite Nayeon. It’s immature and childish but she wants Nayeon to get jealous - jealous enough to want to get back together. She wants Nayeon to see her hanging out with Bambam. She even hoped for a Dispatch photo leak because she's sure that would get Nayeon all riled up. Problem was, no Dispatch was on sight. However, that didn't stop her from crossing the line and what she did may be the very reason why she’d lose Nayeon forever.

Bambam noticed that Mina had been silently crying beside him. He hands her a box of Kleenex. “I'm so sorry. I should’ve just brought you back to your dorm last night.”

“Can we keep this between us?”

“Yes, of course. No one has to know.”

“I'm sor –”

“No, don’t. _I’m_ sorry. I lost control. Here, take this.” He hands her a bottle of painkillers and a bottle of water that he always keeps in his car. "It can help with your hangover.”

Mina takes the bottle of Advil hoping it’ll ease more than just her massive headache. “I’m so stupid.” She groans.

“For what it’s worth I hope you know you’re not a bad person for acting up on your emotions. We’re only human. We’re all bound to make mistakes.”

“Not like this.”

Bambam lets out a heavy sigh as the traffic light turns green. “Let’s get you back to your dorm before your managers arrive.”

***

There’s a bunch of luggage in the hallway and travel documents had been organized on the center table in the living room. Everyone’s ready.

Except for Mina who’s still MIA.

Jihyo's pacing the living room while calling Mina’s phone for over an hour now. She’s been getting the same automated voice prompt telling her the number’s not available but she still kept on dialling anyway.

Jeongyeon’s seated on the floor, going through their travel checklist for the third time while Tzuyu’s standing by the windows, on the lookout for any signs of Japanese ballerina arriving.

“Don’t worry, unnie, I'm sure she’ll be back soon.” Chaeyoung sits beside Nayeon on the couch, trying to reassure the older girl.

Nayeon just nods. She had asked Sana to drive her to the dorm when she found out Mina didn’t go home after walking out of her apartment last night. Now, she anxiously waits for Mina so she can apologize and beg for her to take her back.

“Oh! Someone’s coming. I think it’s Mina unnie.” Tzuyu frowns. “Isn’t that GOT7’s car?”

“What? Where?” Jeongyeon runs to the window and joins the maknae as a tinted black car goes pulls over on their driveway. The two of them were shocked when they see Mina stepped out of the car followed by Bambam. 

Then the door locks clicked open.

***

The first thing Mina saw when she entered the house was an angry Jihyo with her arms crossed looking at her directly. This look means that she’s in trouble and Jihyo had to go through so much to get her out of it.

“Mina-ya.” Jihyo said in a disapproving tone.

Mina walks further into the living room when her eyes lands on the last person she’d hoped to see there. “Nayeon?”

Nayeon stood up the moment the door clicked open and watched as Mina walks in with Bambam trailing behind her.

This is the most awkward situation the girl group members have ever been in.

The boy was also surprised to see Nayeon and he knew he needed to get out of the picture as soon as possible so he bowed to the girls.

“I uh, I'm just dropping her off. Have a safe trip.” He bowed once again before whispering to Mina. “I'm really sorry. Good luck.”

He makes his way out and Mina internally prays for the ground to swallow her whole.

Mina turns to Jihyo who looks really disappointed.

Jeongyeon looks confused.

Chaeyoung and Tzuyu look scared.

Sana looks furious.

And Nayeon, she looks defeated.

Without thinking, Mina’s feet move towards her ~~girlfriend~~. “Nayeon –“ 

“I-I uh, I just wanted to make sure you got back here safely.” Nayeon stutters. She was standing close to Mina. Close enough for her to see a little bruise on the Japanese girl’s neck. Definitely not something Nayeon had placed there – after the hickey photos from Dispatch, she had been very mindful of where she brands Mina.

Anyone can tell that something happened between Mina and that boy last night but Nayeon’s not sure if she still wants a confirmation or not. She didn’t realize that she’d been digging her nails into her palm with the way she was griping her fist until she felt Sana gently rubbing her arm.

She looks at Sana who motions for to exhale. _Right. I need to breathe._ So she takes a deep breath in and exhales. “We’re going to go and let you guys get ready.” She turns to the group’s leader. “Jihyo, thanks and sorry for the trouble. You all have a safe flight.”

Jihyo gives Nayeon an apologetic smile.

The rest of the members did the same.

Mina reached out to hold Nayeon when she passed by her on the way to the door but the Korean yanked her arm away.

Nayeon doesn’t want to cause a scene but her curiosity is getting the best of her. She studies Mina’s face and she swears she can see chapped skin on her lower lip. Nayeon will never be this rough with her.

“Nayeon, I –“

“Did you spend the night with him?” If there’s one thing Nayeon's sure of is that Mina always answers with the truth. 

This was Mina’s initial plan, right, to get Nayeon jealous. But why does it feel so painful seeing the hurt look in the Korean's eyes?

“Y-yes.”

There were muffled gasps from the other people in the room.

“But nothing happened.” Mina immediately defended herself. “I stopped it before it can go any further.”

Nayeon didn’t hear it. Only one thing registered in her mind. “You cheated on me?”

“You broke up with me.” Mina reasoned out as she bites her lip.

Nayeon drops her head and sighs. She’s been sighing heavily since last night she’s surprised she had that much air in her lungs. But it’s necessary. She can’t keep all the anger in. She needs to let it out and not let it take over her again. Last time she did, she broke up with Mina and she might do something even more stupid.

Mina got scared when Nayeon looks back up. The face in front of her shows no emotion but the eyes staring at her were burning with anger.

“Have a safe flight.” It’s almost like a whisper through gritted teeth. Nayeon turns to leave.

Mina's about to reach for the Korean girl again but Sana blocks her.

Sana furrows her brows and just shakes her head. “Don’t.” She turns around to follow her bestfriend out.

The tension just got a lot thicker but Jihyo knows their managers could arrived at any minute.

“We have to go.” Jihyo walks to Mina and wraps her arms around the Japanese’s body.

“But, Jihyo –“

“Mina, let her go.”

***

“Take me to Momo’s.” Nayeon said as soon as they entered Sana’s car.

Sana looks over and sees the way her bestfriend’s shaking while putting her seatbelt on. _Oh shit_. She reaches over and helps Nayeon, squeezing her bestfriend’s hand before putting the car on drive. 

She doesn’t think going to the older Japanese’s place is the best idea right now but she’s not going to argue with Nayeon. 

_Why is this happening?_

***

Momo puts the furry ball of cuteness she was petting down on the floor and gets up from her seat when she hears the knock she’s been waiting for. She received a call from Sana a few minutes ago telling her that she’d be dropping Nayeon off without any other details.

She had a few ideas in mind but none of them included seeing a broken Nayeon when she opened her door. 

_What the fuck happened?_

She pulls her in for a tight hug and the younger girl immediately starts sobbing.

“Shhh.” Momo rubs Nayeon’s back. “Shhh. I'm here.”

This is hurting Momo’s more than she's willing to admit. Holding the trembling girl in her arms, she knows it would take so much for Nayeon to break. And there’s only one person who had the power to do that. She’ll save all her questions for later.

***

**_DISPATCH:_ **

_#TWICE spotted at Incheon Airport today on their way to Switzerland to shoot Twice TV._

_All 5 members are present. Have fun in the Swiss Alps. Bon voyage._

**_COMMENTS:_ **

_Mina looks like she’s crying. Look at the way Jihyo and Chaeng were holding her._

_Mina okay? Even with her bucket hat, you can still her eyes are puffy._

_Mina what happened baby?_

_Some people at the airport said they heard her sniffing._

_Maybe she’s down with a flu._

_Get well soon, our Minguin._

_JYPE! You’re over working these babies._

**_DISPATCH:_ **

_JYP Ent released a statement after fans voiced out their concerns about #TWICE Mina’s airport appearance today._

_Mina's not feeling too well but is now under medication and will still participate in the group's upcoming activities._

_They want to remind everyone to take care of their health during this cold season._

***

Momo entertains guests at the café. Her parents had arrived and important business partners from Japan are also in attendance. Korean and Japanese media are all over the place too.

 _Nayeon broke up with Mina._

That's all that Momo got out of the younger girl in between sobs then Sana filled her in with the rest of the story - the story of how Nayeon was accused of having an affair with her and how Mina may or may not have cheated on Nayeon. It's still confusing but they're going to have time to talk about it when Nayeon's ready. 

She looks over to Nayeon who's chatting with Sana and Dahyun. It took almost two hours and a few shots of bourbon for the girl to stop crying and Momo worries that Nayeon may be pushing herself by attending the opening. She excused herself from the online blogger who was interviewing her so she can join the younger girls.

Nayeon forced fake smiles and small talks about the ideas behind her designs. It’s a great distraction since the alcohol in her system is slowly losing its effect and she’s once again remembering the feeling of betrayal. _Mina cheated on me._

“Nabong, are you sure you’re okay with all these?” Dahyun asks when she noticed Nayeon zoning out. “We can just go home or to go a bar and drink or whatever you want to do.” 

“Dahyun’s right, Nay.” Momo appears. “You know you don’t have to stay here.”

“I know. Maybe another hour and then we’re off, okay?” Nayeon bargains.

“Okay.” Sana smiles. “Just let us know when you want to leave.”

They hear Nayeon’s name being called and by the way Momo groans, they can all tell it was none other than Mr. Hirai.

“Nayeon-chan!” Mr. Hirai calls out again in his deep voice. He approached them with two other older Japanese who could be business partners too. 

Nayeon bows at him and he does the same. Momo smiled at her father while Sana and Dahyun also bowed to the elders.

“I really like what you did here. Momoring was right to hire you to renovate this place. I can feel so much luck flowing inside.”

“I'm glad you liked it, Uncle. Thank you for trusting me.”

“Of course I trust you. You’re family.” Mr. Hirai chuckles. “Oh! And I would like to introduce Dr. Myoi Kaito and his wife, Aiko. This is Im Nayeon, the interior designer.”

Nayeon turns to her side to bow again. Wait. _Myoi?_ She slowly straightens up and was met by familiar faces. Faces she had seen on pictures. Pictures Mina had shown her when they were in Osaka.

Momo also lets out a surprised _‘Oh_ ’. She’s pretty sure she knows most of her parent’s business partners but she didn’t have any ideas about her parents’ being friends with the Myoi's. She turns to look at Nayeon to see her reaction. _Looks like she'd seen a ghost. Or two._

Sana and Dahyun exchange looks and step back to give them a little privacy.

“You may have heard of their daughter, Mina." Mr. Hirai continues. "She’s a member of a pop group uh,” He thinks for a few seconds. “Twice.”

Nayeon just nodded as she stares at the people she was supposed to meet last night – people who supposedly already approve of her being with their daughter.

Mrs. Myoi smiles at her. “It’s good to finally meet you, Nayeon-san.”

“The pleasure is mine Dr. and Mrs. Myoi.” Nayeon swallows the lump in her throat.

“Your designs are wonderful.” Mrs. Myoi looks around. “Are you somehow related to the owners of Im Interiors?”

“Yes. They were my parents.”

“Oh, that’s why the logo looks familiar. I remember because the hotel we stayed at in LA had those logos on their furniture and I really liked them.” Mrs. Myoi leans a little to whisper. “It was unfortunate that we didn’t get to meet last night. Our daughter is very fond of you.”

“It was unfortunate and I apologize.” Nayeon bows. She doesn’t know how to act in this situation.

Dr. Myoi leans in to whisper to his wife as he taps on his watch.

“Is it time already?” Mrs. Myoi asks her husband who nods. She turns her attention back to Nayeon. “Well, we have a plane to catch. Congratulations again and we hope to have that dinner rescheduled with you, Nayeon-san.”

Dr. Myoi gives Nayeon a nod as he leaves with this wife.

 _Did that really just happen?_ Nayeon meeting Mina’s parents after she broke up with her. It’s like the universe is playing a game with her.

Tears start to form again in Nayeon’s tired eyes, cold sweat drips on the side of her neck, her hands start to tremble behind her back and she really wants to run away. But then soft hands intertwines with hers, effectively calming her.

“Nay.” Momo gives her the kindest smile. “You want to go?”

Nayeon lets out a shaky breath. “Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Nayeon still managed to meet Mina's parents.  
> Mina's flying to Switzerland.  
> Sana's furious.  
> Momo's still figuring out how she feels about the whole 'Nayeon broke up with Mina' thing  
> >_<
> 
> I was listening to Rachel Yamagata's Reason Why.  
> For those Malex shippers here *wink wink*  
> And Nayeon mentioned Notting Hill in her latest VLive+ chats.  
> Im still so excited about that since that movie was the actual reason I started this AU.  
> UWU


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Swiss adventures.  
> Still unbeta-ed.

The entire flight went smoothly with all girls catching up on their sleep. Jihyo takes her leader role with all her heart and she took it upon herself to look after Mina. She had convinced the Japanese member to take some medications to calm her down since she still couldn’t stop crying.

She knows Mina is in no condition to function, but this is work. Jihyo still believes that Mina would be professional enough to put on a show for the film crew while they shoot. After all, they’re all used to pretending everything is okay in front of the cameras – it _is_ part of their job descriptions.

They just have to power through it.

And that’s exactly what the Japanese ballerina was doing. The minute they landed in Zurich, _Mina the Kpop Idol_ mode was activated especially since they didn’t expect the number of fans who welcomed them at the airport. Who would've thought Swiss people knew about Twice?

The girl group arrived at their hotel in Bern and Jihyo decided to room with Mina on their first night – and probably for the rest of the trip – while Tzuyu and Chaeyoung are rooming with Jeongyeon.

After almost half an hour of confusion with their hotel room assignment and saying goodnight to their camera man, Jihyo and Mina are now in the hotel suite living room, chilling, talking to their personal cameras.

“Everyone, this is the map of Switzerland.” Jihyo shows the map they were given. “Even just this city we’re in is really huge.”

“How do you say hello in Swiss language?” Mina asks Jihyo. “Grazie? Gruezi?”

“Yeah, I think that’s right.” Jihyo checks her phone for the online interpreter app. “Gruezi. We’ll practice more tomorrow.”

“We have so many places to go starting tomorrow.” Mina shows four brochures to the camera while sniffing.

It’s still amazing how Mina’s learned to hide her emotions when the cameras are rolling, she can’t even believe it herself. She’s broken hearted. She betrayed and lost the one person who could very well be the love of her life yet, here she is smiling at the camera.

“Our Minari’s still a little sick so we’ll have our late dinner and take a good rest.” Jihyo remembers their press release about Mina’s condition so she decided to use that too to cover up the all the sniffing that could still be heard and seen in the recording. “Goodnight, Once. See you tomorrow.”

“Bye bye.” Mina waves to the camera.

Jihyo shuts the camera off and looks at Mina who immediately drops her act. She watched as the Japanese girl plays with the welcome gifts from the fans at the airport.

“You know, she has the most adorable bunny teeth I’ve ever seen.” Mina sniffs, playing with the rabbit shaped chocolates and biscuits on the center table. 

“Aww.” Jihyo slides down on the floor and pulls Mina for a hug. She allows her friend to cry on her shoulder. “Why did you do that?”

“I-I don’t know. I was angry. I got jealous. And those pictures.” Mina choked out.

“What pictures?”

“Taesung oppa sent me pictures of her and Momo.” Mina reaches for her phone and unlocks it.

Jihyo waits, confused as to what pictures Mina’s talking about. She didn’t miss the shaky way Mina handed the phone to her. She swipes left, carefully studying each pictures, there were more than ten of them.

“Why are they taking her pictures?”

“I don’t know. Maybe PD-nim instructed them to.“ Mina shrugs.

“This is strange.” Jihyo frowns, zooming in on one of the pictures. “And you thought something was happening between the two of them.”

Mina groans, dropping her head on the table.

“Aw shit.” Jihyo exhales. “You know very well that pictures can be very deceiving.”

“I know. I know. But she chose her over my parents and –“

“She chose the café, not the café owner.” Jihyo cuts in. Mina told her a little bit of what happened while they were on the plane.

 _She’s right._ “I’m so fucking stupid.”

“You are. What you did was really stupid.” Jihyo’s all about tough love when the situation calls for it. “But just give her some time.”

“It’s too late now. I lost her, Ji. She’s never going to want me back.”

“Do you want her back?”

“Of course, I do. I love her. So much.”

“And she loves you too.” Jihyo pulls Mina in for another hug. "Let’s just finish our work here and I promise to help you figure this all out when we return home, okay.” She rubs Mina’s arm. “Come on. Mario Kart before we sleep?”

“Okay.” Mina chuckles. What would she do without Jihyo?

***

Nayeon slowly opens her eyes when sunlight hits her face. She didn’t want to wake up just yet. She actually didn’t want to wake up at all. The dream that was quickly fading away from her memory was of Mina.

She always dreams about her. The way she make cute weird noises, her gummy smile, the constellation of moles on her face, her enchanting eyes. She didn’t want to face the reality that Mina spent a night with another guy with the intention of cheating on her.

And now here she is, sleeping with Momo.

Like, literally _just_ sleeping beside Momo. She didn’t want to go back to her apartment yet so when the older Japanese offered her bed, she didn’t think twice of accepting it.

Momo had been up for several minutes now, just watching Nayeon sleep beside her. She missed these moments. The way Nayeon would twitch her nose as she snores lightly was one of Momo’s favorite things.

“Wake up, sleepyhead, you have classes today.”

“I don’t want to go to school.” Nayeon mumbles, burying herself under the fluffy pillows.

A soft whimper was heard from somewhere near the bed and Nayeon immediately throws the blankets off her body. She scoots to the edge of the bed and reaches for the four-legged ball of fur that Momo had recently adopted.

“What happened to _nothing will get in the way of my studies_ mantra of yours?” Momo raised an eyebrow.

“That’s not a mantra.” Nayeon snuggles the puppy. “Boo doesn’t want me to go to school too.”

“Let me make you breakfast. I think I still know how you like your coffee.”

Nayeon reaches out for Momo before she gets the chance to get of the bed. “Thank you.”

Momo smiles and cups the younger girl’s face. “You’d do the same for me.” She places a soft kiss on Nayeon’s forehead before getting off the bed. 

Nayeon closes her eyes and let the little puppy cuddle to her body. She’s thankful for Momo. The older Japanese will always have a special place in her heart but she knows there’s a much bigger space now, a void that only Mina can fill.

***

It's the official first day of filming Twice TV 5 in Switzerland and so far, Jihyo had been successful in keeping Mina occupied. There are still a lot of times that the Japanese ballerina would just space out from what they were actually doing and Jihyo would always tell the camera men that it was just her admiring the scenery.

The other members are also worried about Mina. Whenever any of them see her looking lost in her thoughts, they’d make a move to get her attention back.

Their Swiss crew showed them around the city. Chaeyoung and Tzuyu enjoyed the morning market. Jihyo’s competitive side came out when they played a little game with their managers and she won a wooden carved cow. Jeongyeon regretted the gelato banana flavor she bought – it tasted like cough syrup. And Mina was given free tulips just because the florist thought she was really beautiful – an ego booster Mina didn’t know she needed.

Going to the Rose Garden to have their little downtime together, they come across the city’s clock tower. It’s beautiful. It’s magnificent. It’s classical. It’s almost magical. Mina looks up just in time for the clock to strike twelve in the afternoon and the bell starts ringing.

_The clock strikes twelve, just like Cinderella._

A quick trip to the Charlie Chaplin's World for a photoshoot, then the girls were taken to a chocolate factory where they were taught how to make their own chocolates.

_Nayeon would’ve loved this._

Mina remembers the birthday weekend trip with Nayeon in Jeju and how much the college girl loves creating things with her hands. 

_She would definitely win this little competition._

And with that thought, Mina won. Her chocolate was beautifully designed – thanks to all those night she spent listening to Nayeon rambling about color, texture and pattern. She takes a picture of her chocolate masterpiece and thought about sending it to college interior design student.

_If only you can see this._

It’s funny, really, she’s thousands of miles away from Seoul yet everything makes her feel closer to Nayeon.

***

All the girls have decided to sleep in one room after they’ve turned their cameras off.

“You’ve taken meds, Mina-ya?” Jeongyeon asks, handing a box of Kleenex to the Japanese ballerina.

“Yes, unnie.” Mina had actually caught the flu and had been sniffing since they arrived in their next destination. “Hopefully this goes away in the morning.”

“Tzuyu’s been sneezing all afternoon too.” Chaeyoung said while swiping photos on her own digital camera. “There’s definitely something different in the air here.”

“Just make sure to drink your evening vitamins.” Jihyo reminded her members. “All of you.”

While the other girls go over the photos they have taken during their activities in the day, Mina decided to finally check her personal phone and connect to the hotel’s wifi. She was using her work phone during the day to take pictures and to make sure no personal information will be caught on film. 

Jihyo watched carefully as Mina’s phone starts to buzz with notifications.

Mina sees the message notifications from her parents, there were messages from Bambam and a few from their managers’ group chat, she decided to check them all out later. She pulled up the conversation thread she have with Nayeon and was not entirely surprised that the girl hasn’t replied to a single message she sent.

**Evil Cowgirl**

Nayeon

I'm so sorry

I have no excuse

**Evil Cowgirl**

Please lemme explain

I don’t believe the photos

I got jealous and I was stupid

But nothing happened

**Evil Cowgirl**

Baby

I love you

**Evil Cowgirl**

Nayeon

I know you don’t wanna talk to me now

Lets talk when I get back

Please

**Evil Cowgirl**

Please

**Evil Cowgirl**

Nayeon

**Evil Cowgirl**

Nayeon

**Softie**

[Read]

_At least she didn’t block me, right?_ Mina’s been fighting the urge to check on Nayeon’s online account all day but she’s actually tired so she gives in.

And as expected, Nayeon’s online account doesn’t have any photos of herself on it. The only new photos on her page were from the café opening. 

Mina sighs before moving to Sana’s account.

**_@Sanatozaki_ **

_Congratulations to these powerhouse duo @PeachesByMomo and @IMNY We are so proud of you._

_PS I got their permission to take this photo._

Of course, Sana would throw shade at Mina. The first one was a photo of the four friends, smiling casually at the camera. Swipe. The second was a more candid shot with Sana and Dahyun laughing while Momo was hugging Nayeon tightly who was hiding her face in the crook of the older Japanese neck.

The photos look so wholesome but Mina felt that jealousy rise up again. _I should be the one holding her like that._

Out of curiosity, she tapped on Momo’s online handle and it displays the older Japanese’s public profile. Photos from the recent café opening with food bloggers and restaurant critics, a photo of Momo and an older Japanese couple who Mina assumes were the former’s parents, and there it is, a photo of Momo and Nayeon smiling at each other with the café owner’s arm draped around the latter’s shoulders.

**_@PeachesByMomo_ **

_Absolutely the best @IMNY_

Jeongyeon and Jihyo had been exchanging looks since Mina started going through her phone.

“You okay there, Mina-ya?”

“Yeah.” Mina closed the app and decided to open her parents’ messages to get her mind to think of something else.

She scrolls through the messages from her parents _._ Her mother was telling her about how their flight was from Korea and that they’re planning on doing another medical mission when get back to Osaka.

**Mom**

Sweetie.

We also went to the Hirai’s café opening.

Your father and I met Nayeon-san.

Mina read the messages again and stares at the photos of Nayeon with her parents.

“What happened, Mina-chan?”

“She met my parents.” Mina shows her members the photos her mother sent her. She can see the exhaustion in Nayeon’s eyes and that breaks her heart again. “Maybe I should just call her. She’s not answering my texts.”

“I don’t think you should do that, unnie.” It was Tzuyu. “If she wasn’t replaying to your texts, she’s not going to answer your call.”

***

Fortunately, the girls’ schedules were so packed that Mina was able to get very distracted. Dancing to their most recent song at the chilly docks to the train rides up the mountain where Tzuyu lost a bet and was dressed in Swedish costume as punishment – she’ll be their tour guide for the day. From trying their hands on the alpenhorns to the silly mafia and red ginseng games they would play during meals, Mina cannot thank her members enough for being the best company ever.

Everything was going well until she made a mistake and was disqualified from the current game they’re playing. She was still laughing at Jeongyeon’s weird jokes, running her hands through her hair when she noticed something was wrong.

Her earring’s missing. Her favorite pair of earrings. The earrings Nayeon gave her.

She looks around the table, while holding on to her other ear, making sure the other pair hasn’t gone missing too.

“What is it, unnie?” Chaeyoung asks.

“One of my earring’s missing.”

Chaeyoung helps her look for it on the table. They all know how much Mina loves this pair of earrings and why she treasures them. The young rapper lifts the plates, utensils and napkins checking if the earring had been dropped somewhere under all the mess on their table, but it wasn’t there.

The other members continue the game they were playing since the cameras are still rolling while Mina continues her discreet search for the earring.

_Oh no, no, no. Please not my earrings too._

Holding her right ear – Mina’s securing the pair with the penguin engraved on it – she still laughs at the jokes Jeongyeon’s throwing at the other members around the table without really understanding what the joke was about.

_Nayeon’s going to get really upset if I lose it._

Even though Nayeon broke up with her – and Mina still believes she can change the Korean’s mind – she wants to hold on to every little pieces of Nayeon that she has.

She stretched her neck to look behind her and something shiny caught her eyes. She crouched a little to look at it closely.

_Oh thank god._

She jumps out of her seat and picks up the heart shaped gold earrings with a cute little shark engraved on it, throwing her hand up in the air like she’s won the jackpot – because it does feel like hitting the jackpot knowing that she hadn’t lost the earring.

“Yaaaaah!” Mina victoriously shouts in her soft, tiny voice and the entire room erupts in laughter and cheers.

“Ya! Mina unnie’s crying!” Chaeyoung teased.

"Mina wins!" Jeongyeon cheered.

It was adorable to the see the most reserved member got that loud just because she found her missing earring. It may seem so small and petty to others but to Mina it means everything. And her members know it.

Mina brings the earring to her lips, giving it a quick kiss before sitting back down next to Chaeyoung. She smiles when she feels the younger girl giving her a quick pat on her back.

_If only I’d been this patient with her._

Mina tried to push the thought at the back of her mind. She joins the conversation as Jeongyeon plots on pulling a prank on their youngest member.

***

Last day in Switzerland.

Finally. 

A nerve-racking cable car ride brought the girls to the top of the mountains where a James Bond movie was filmed. They were so high up the mountains that Mina’s starting to feel light headed, especially after dancing to their hit song _Knock Knock_ at 2,970 meter above sea level, oxygen is kind of an issue now.

They still have to go through the rest of their schedule and nothing motivates them more than food. The Piz Gloria is a revolving restaurant that offers a 360 degrees look at the Swiss Alps. The food was amazing but the view was even more breathtaking.

They all decided to check out the souvenir shop after lunch to also burn some calories before the next activity. Mina got the perfect gift for her parents. Her father would really appreciate the Swiss Knife that she’s getting engraved with his initials and her mother would really love another snow globe to add to her collections. 

While waiting for the items she purchased to be wrapped, Mina sees a miniature grandfather clock with all its intricate mechanism in full display thanks to its glass casing. 

_Nayeon would love this._

“Mina unnie,” Tzuyu appears beside her. “Want to partner up for the thrill walk?”

And partnered up they did.

Jeongyeon spent most of the time annoying Jihyo, taking endless selfies together. Tzuyu had fun teasing her Mina unnie – the maknae just wanted to make sure Mina’s having fun in this trip. And Chaeyoung, being the cool and brave girl that she is, enjoys the walk alone.

***

The girls concluded their first overseas trip as a group by putting together a scrapbook and reading the letters all members wrote to each other, teasing at how cheesy they are. The crew packed up and said their goodnights leaving the girls to themselves and Jihyo takes that as her cue to bring out the bottle of champagne she bought earlier in the day.

“To a successful Twice TV 5.” Jihyo raises her glass. “You girls made this trip a memorable one. I love you all.” 

“You never say _I love you_ to us unless you’re already drunk. Tell us the truth, Jihyo unnie,” Chaeyoung pokes their leader’s cheeks. “You drank at dinner, didn’t you?”

Jihyo grins. “A little.”

“She had three bottles of beer at dinner.” Tzuyu deadpanned.

The girls laughed except for Jeongyeon who had been on her phone the entire time. “Mina-chan, have you seen our group chat with the managers?”

“No, why?”

“Just check it now.” Jeongyeon urges her.

Mina opens the group chat as the other members did the same too – curious as to why the oldest member wanted their Japanese member to check it.

The first thing they noticed is that the managers are talking about ways on how to control _the situation._ Scrolling up, they found out that the situation was a screenshot of a Dispatch post showing what looks like a selfie of Mina and Bambam being cozy together with face filters on. 

**Sadness Unnie**

They said it was on BB’s phone

But he said he never shared it with anyone

Not even MN

**Taesung Oppa**

Whoever gave that to dispatch had direct contact with g7

Did you talk to their managers?

**Yongjin Oppa**

No not yet

PDnim would set up a meeting with all of us once we’re back home

**Sadness Unnie**

GIRLS

Do not post anything on your online account

Let’s discuss this tomorrow

OK

Get some rest now

You all did great today

Memories from that night flashed in Mina’s eyes. She vaguely remembers what they did but she knows it’s a legit photo. She quietly puts the phone down on the floor, pulls her knees in and hides her face with her hands. Without any warning she starts sobbing.

Tzuyu was the first to notice and the youngest wraps her arms around Mina.

Chaeyoung follows and hugs the other side.

“This is fucked up.” Jihyo whispered to herself, drinking from the champagne bottle. She feels so sorry for Mina because if Nayeon sees this photo, it will definitely ruin any chances of them getting back together.

***

_Jinyoung: “The shareholders loved the publicity there in Seoul especially since most of them are still friends with Mr. Hirai. I really wanted to fly out to see the café personally.”_

_"I know but you have a lot of meetings these days especially with the year-end inventory coming up.”_ Nayeon is at her usual spot in the Minatozaki Family restaurant. She was finishing her final project for one of her subject when her brother called.

_Jinyoung: “Speaking of the year end, I can actually clear my calendar so I fly there for New Year's if you want me to.”_

_“Are you sure?”_

_Jinyoung: “Yeah. We never miss New Year's Eve celebrations together.”_

_“Well, what if I fly back home instead? Since you were here for my birthday.”_ Nayeon shrugs.

_Jinyoung: “Ah, thank god. I was kind of hoping you’d say that. Hey, why don’t you bring Mina too?”_

_“Uh, I think she’d want to spend the holidays with her family too.”_

_Jinyoung: “You’re right. How is she?”_

_“She’s in Switzerland.”_ Nayeon bites her lips. _“For work.”_

_Jinyoung: “Wow, well say hi to her for me. I’m going to go to bed now. I'm too old to stay up all night and I have an early board meeting tomorrow. Good luck on your project. Love you, kiddo.”_

_“Love you. Goodnight.”_

Nayeon ends the call and lets out a heavy sigh. She drops her face on her palms and tries to calm her heart. Of course her brother would bring up Mina in their conversation. The man grew fond of the Kpop Idol.

Ping.

A notification popped on her phone. It could be another text message from Mina. She’s been getting them everyday since the girl left and Nayeon doesn’t plan on replying anytime soon but she’s not about to block the number either. 

After thinking things through, she figured it’s best for them to talk in person and so she’d just wait until Mina returns. And as per her calendar notes, the girl group should be arriving tomorrow.

**DISPATCH:**

_Leaked photo of #GOT7Bambam and #TWICEMina looking very cozy goes viral._

Why did she have to see this now? Now, that she’s starting to understand why Mina acted out, Nayeon had to be reminded of that evening again. Why did she not unsubscribe to this page?

***

_NY SUPPORT GROUP._ Yes, Sana renamed their group chat again.

**Supporter D**

Just let us know when you wanna come home okay?

I’ll pick you up

Even if it’s the middle of the night.

**NY**

Awwww thank you my Dubu

I'm gonna be staying with Momo tonight

**Supporter S**

Mom wants you to have dinner with us tomorrow

She said she thought you were staying earlier

**NY**

I'm sorry Sana-chan

Something came up

I'm not gonna be a great company tonight

**Supporter S**

Hey, we know.

Don’t worry about it.

And bring Momo tomorrow too.

**Supporter D**

We’ll see you at uni.

Don’t stay up too late grandma.

**NY**

I won’t

You two behave yourselves tonight

**Supporter S**

I can’t promise you that

**NY**

Dubu get a hold of you woman

LOL

**Supporter D**

She’s not my woman

And I don’t wanna hold her

**Supporter S**

As if I’d let you hold me

Ewwww

“You saw the photo didn’t you?” Momo brings a cup of tea in front of Nayeon while the younger girl multitask between texting and petting Boo on her lap.

“Yeah,” Nayeon puts the phone down. “I forgot that I subscribed to that online tabloid.”

“It could be an old photo.”

“No, it wasn’t. And you know that.“

Of course Momo knows. She stares at Nayeon for a few moments, before standing back up. She goes to open one of the cupboards to grab two wine glasses and pulls a bottle from the wine rack 

“Alright, forget about the tea. We’re drinking this tonight.” And she motions for Nayeon to follow her 

_Can I forget about everything else too?_ Nayeon thought as she gets up from her seat, following Momo out to the balcony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im sorry for bringing up bad memories with 'that' particular photo.  
> My heart hurt writing that part but its going to make sense in future chapters, I hope.  
> Please take a slice from the pizza I ordered for dinner as peace offering.
> 
> Next chapter:  
> Will Mina get Nayeon to talk to her or not?  
> Will Momo make a move or not?  
> Will Dubu hold Sana or not?


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People are going to talk.  
> Finally.
> 
> Still unbeta-ed.

**COMMENTS:**

It’s clearly photoshopped.

That’s why they haven’t released any official statement yet.

JYPE still needs to address this.

They really should have more security on their phones

Dispatch needs to delete that post

Why are you all angry about this? They’re a couple. This is normal.

This is invasion of their privacy.

**Evil Cowgirl**

I'm back

You probably already know that

**Evil Cowgirl**

You probably already saw the photo too

It’s real

But it’s just a photo

Nothing happened

And I didn’t know about it

**Softie**

[ … ]

Mina felt the rush of excitement when she saw the blinking three dots but then felt like she was being dropped from the highest floor of JYP building when the dots disappeared.

**Evil Cowgirl**

Nayeon 

I'm so sorry

IMY

**Softie**

[Read]

Maybe Nayeon didn’t know what to say to her. Or maybe she was going to reply with a meme or something else but decided against it because if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all. That’s how the saying goes, right?

Whatever Nayeon’s reason was for not sending that message Mina was sure she was typing, the Japanese ballerina is just glad that Nayeon’s still reading her messages. That means the college girl didn’t completely shut her out, right?

She leans back on the lockers, lightly tapping her phone on her forehead. It’s been two days since they’ve returned from Switzerland and they were immediately put into dance rehearsals and song recordings.

They didn’t even have the time to see their CEO and Mina’s getting anxious about the management’s plans regarding the picture that’s still circulating online. They were only told not to post anything on their group's online account related to the viral photo which was really a warning to Chaeyoung, their feisty little beast.

Mina hears footsteps and looks up just in time to see Bambam turn the corner. The boy was equally surprised to see her.

“What the fuck, Bam?!” Mina launched herself at him. “I thought it’ll just be between us!”

Mina had her elbow pressed on the boy’s chest, pinning him against the lockers. There are a few people in the company that day and she sees Bambam’s eyes frantically searching the area. 

Shit. People might see them. She steps back, letting go of the boy. It’s a good thing that the building designers decided to put a little lounge area near the lockers because Mina needs to sit the fuck down.

Bambam followed her inside but kept a safe distance between them.

“Why did you have to show that picture to people?” Mina drops herself on the soft yellow couch.

“Mina, I swear I didn’t show it to anyone. I don’t know how they got it.” Bambam rubs his chest – he didn’t expect Mina to be that strong.

“Why did you even have that?”

“I don’t know. We were both tipsy, I –“ He shrugs. “That was the only photo from that night. I double checked my phone and I deleted it. I removed it from the cloud too.” 

He knows it wouldn’t make any difference now that people would have already saved a copy of it, but he still wants to let Mina know that he’s also done something on his end.

Mina looks more miserable now compared to the last time he saw her.

“I-I can talk to Nayeon if you want –“ He’s not even sure why he’s offering to do this.

“No.” Mina cuts him off. “Just…” She glared at him one more time before getting off the couch, leaving the boy alone.

***

Nayeon carefully opens the door of her apartment. It’s funny how nervous she feels coming back to her own place.

She can hear sounds coming from the TV in the living room and figured that Dahyun’s home since it’s Tuesday – the younger Korean only has one class today and it’s at three in the afternoon. She wasn’t really surprised to see Sana there too. The unexpected thing is that Dahyun’s lying on Sana’s lap while the latter plays with the younger girl’s hair.

“Um, hi?” Nayeon feels like she’s interrupting something intimate, like a private moment. _Is this what Dubu feels everytime she saw me and Mina together?_

And as if on cue, she hears a familiar voice from whatever’s on TV. She turns around and was met by a 65-inch-UHD image of Mina. 

_“Grazie? Gruezi?”_

It’s a close up shot that shows the KPop Idol wearing a white turtleneck top but even with a cap casting shadow on the Japanese’s face, Nayeon can tell Mina’s been crying. Her broken raspy voice and the sniffing can’t hide the fact that Mina wasn’t feeling well when they were filming. _This must be the Switzerland shoot._

_“Bye bye.”_ Mina waves to the camera, smiling. A smile that didn’t even reach her eyes.

Then the screen goes black.

Nayeon quickly turns back around to see Dahyun pointing the remote control to the TV. She shut it off.

“Nabong,” Dahyun smiles. “Hey, you’re back.”

“I'm just picking up some clothes.” Nayeon starts to climb up to the loft but calls out. “And you really don’t have to hide that from me, you know.”

Sana and Dahyun exchanged looks before the younger Korean turns the TV back on and lowers the volume down when they hear Nayeon’s bedroom door closed.

Dahyun’s been discreetly watching every Twice contents online whenever they hang out. And although Nayeon appreciates the thought, she really doesn’t want her bestfriend to give up something that she really enjoys just because it may seem disrespectful – Dahyun’s words.

And it’s going to be a big fat lie to say that Nayeon doesn’t miss the KPop idol. Thanks to the glass wall of her bedroom, she can still see the living room from the loft. Since Dahyun had turned the TV back on, she can see Mina’s face on the screen again – wearing a gray jacket over layers of shirts, it looks like Mina’s enjoying a meal with Chaeyoung.

_Minari._

There was a soft knock and Nayeon quickly moved away from the wall and dashed to her dresser before Sana slowly opens the door. 

“Nayeonnie?”

“Yeah?” Nayeon pulls a few shirts out of the dresser.

“Stay for lunch? We ordered chicken and pizza.” Sana walks into the room and leans in on the dresser, watching Nayeon choose her clothes. “And though I know Dubu can finish everything by herself, we’d love for the Great Nabong to challenge her on that.”

“Just say that you miss me, Sana-chan.” Nayeon chuckles. “That’s all you needed to do.”

Sana reached for Nayeon’s hand, making the Korean look at her. “I don’t think staying this long with Momo is a good idea. I totally get it, this place has memories that you don’t want to relive now. But this is your apartment and you’re still emotionally vulnerable. I don’t want you to do something as stupid as what Mina did or even worse.”

“Do you really have to bring that up?” Nayeon thinks it’s too soon for to the Japanese to bring this up, but god, she missed rapper Sana.

“Yes I do cause I know you don’t want to hurt her like that.” Sana cocking her head to the side, she raised an eyebrow to her bestfriend.

It became a staredown between them for a good thirty seconds until Nayeon yields and reluctantly returns her clothes back in the drawer. Sana always makes the most sense between the three of them and today was no exception.

***

Nayeon had told Momo that she’s ready to go back to her own apartment and although the older Japanese wanted her to stay longer, she knows it’s time Nayeon face her issues.

She brought a bottle of Momo’s favorite whisky as a thank you gift for letting her stay for over a week.

It’s getting really cold in the evening nowadays and as much as they enjoy hanging out at Momo’s balcony they don’t want to freeze to death. So after making sure the unit’s nicely heated, they decided to just sit on the floor facing the evening view of the city with Boo running around them, just talking about anything and everything.

Their conversation got more serious as the night went on. It started from Momo telling a story about how Boo was able to tell which burlap is salt and with burlap is sugar when she brought her to the café – Nayeon’s seriously considering of adopting her own – to recalling the stupid rash decision Nayeon made over a week ago.

Everyone still thinks it was stupid.

Because it really was.

“You’re still an idiot for breaking up with her without telling her about their manager and how he threatened you.”

“How many more times do you and the world have to remind me that?” Nayeon pinched the bridge of her nose, she’s getting drunk and annoyed. “Why do this always happen to me? You know, I give my heart and then I get it broken by doing something to fuck everything up.”

“Come on, don’t say that. That’s not true.”

“No, it’s true. That’s what I did with you too, right? I got clingy even though I knew that wasn't what you wanted.”

Momo rolls her eyes. “You were a lot younger back then. Younger people are always clingy and I was a free spirit who can’t be tamed. You didn’t know any better.”

Nayeon scoffs. “Guess what? I still don’t know any better.” She winced as she finished her glass. She’s not really a big fan of whisky. “I really wanted her to be the one.”

“Maybe she is the one. Maybe she’s not.” Momo reached out to tuck a few strands on Nayeon’s ear. “But you’ll figure it out and you’ll get through this. You’re the strongest person I know.”

“I'm tired of being strong.” Nayeon pouts.

“Well, that’s why we’re here. Your bestfriends. Me.” Momo moves closer and runs a finger on Nayeon’s cheek, looking directly into the younger’s eyes. “You know you have me, right?”

There are so many things Momo wanted to say and ask and she knows this is not the right time for that but that doesn’t stop her from closing the remaining gap between them. She’d like to blame the alcohol for her lack of self-control but she also really wanted to know if there’s even a slight chance of winning Nayeon back and this is the only way that comes into her mind.

Nayeon didn’t stop Momo even though she can hear Sana’s voice in her head. _You don’t want to hurt her like that._

She places her hands on the older girl’s waist and gives it a tight squeeze. Momo moans into her mouth and Nayeon welcomes the warm and tingly sensation the older Japanese’s lips are giving her. _You don’t want to hurt her like that._

Momo moves a hand to hold the back of Nayeon’s neck, kissing her more deeply, more passionately. They let their lips, tongues and hands reacquaint with each other until their lungs asked for air.

Momo pulls back, panting. “You can still tell me to stop.” She breathes out.

“Do you want to stop?” Nayeon also wanted to know, once and for all, what she really feels about Momo. She knows Momo will always be special, but is it still the romantic kind of special or just the platonic kind?

“No.” Momo became bolder and gently pushed Nayeon to the floor.

They both know they have different questions that demand answers tonight. And perhaps they were given the answers they were looking for because they stopped moving almost at the same time and pulled back to look at each other with wide eyes.

Momo was first to let go. “Actually, yes.” She pushed herself up and moved away to catch her breath. “You should go.”

***

It’s like déjà vu – the quiet and careful way Nayeon closes the door behind her hoping not to wake the sleeping couple on her couch.

She looks at her bestfriends fondly. Sana’s on her back, cuddling Dahyun with one of her legs draped over the younger Korean’s body. _When will they realize that they’re the only ones who truly get each other?_

They’ve fallen asleep watching TV. Nayeon reached for the remote to turn it off before quietly making her way upstairs.

She drops her overnight bag on the floor the moment she steps into her room. The last time she was on this bed, Mina was showering her with morning kisses and then everything escalated from bad to worst.

The bed sheet and comforter were still carelessly thrown to the side, barely covering the bed. Two pillows still lie on the floor – Mina always said she had way too many pillows so she’d kick them off the bed and use Nayeon’s arms instead.

Nayeon flops herself on the bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to loosen the purple scarf she wears everyday. _This bed still smells like her._

A faint, but distinctive sound of a clock ticking takes her attention away from the ceiling and she turns to look at the wooden clock on her bedside table. Mina’s clock.

It strikes twelve as she fished her phone out of her pocket.

**Softie**

Can we talk?

***

The aquarium is never without a group of students on a field trip or tourists from travel agencies walking around, taking pictures of the place and tapping on the tanks hoping the sea creatures would understand that the humans wanted to play.

Nayeon finds herself quite fascinated with the creature in front of her. She wonders how something made up of almost 95% water can be this mesmerizing and sometimes dangerous. She was tapping on the glass trying to get the animal’s attention when she felt a presence beside her.

“I finally found the jellyfish tank.” Nayeon stated the obvious.

“You did. Was the map helpful this time?”

“Nah. I asked one of the staff to bring me here.” Nayeon turns to her right to see Mina in her extra large shark hoodie. “How was your trip?”

“Cold. But you were right, it was beautiful.” Mina finally turns to look at Nayeon who’s looking back at her. She has dark circles under her eyes but her gaze is much softer compared to the last time when it was burning with anger. “I’m so sorry for what I did that night. I was –“

“You were angry and jealous and you weren’t thinking clearly. And you wanted to hurt me.” Nayeon cut in.

“Just like how you did when you told me to stop seeing you.” Mina said quietly.

Nayeon nods. “That was a stupid thing for me to do, I get that now.” She released a heavy sigh. “But there was something I wasn’t telling you. I guess I thought I was protecting you when really I was protecting myself.”

Mina was right all along. Nayeon’s been keeping secrets from her. _But she was so adamant that it has nothing to do with Momo then what –_

“Your manager had been visiting me before you guys went on your trip. At the café, in uni, told me to break things up with you cause you might lose your career if people finds out about us.” 

“Who?” Mina raised an eyebrow and lowered her face mask.

The jellyfish section is a dimly lit so she’s pretty sure no one would recognize her and she’s having a hard time breathing too.

“The tall one who doesn’t know how to smile.”

“Taesung oppa?”

Nayeon nods.

“Since when?”

“About a month ago.”

“You waited a month before telling me?”

“It’s not that easy, Mina.”

“It actually is.” Mina counters. “What happened to our open communication? And I’ve been messaging you everyday.”

“Did you expect me to tell you this through text?”

“No. But why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Because I’m afraid that when the time comes for you to choose you…” Gulps. “… wouldn’t choose me.”

It’s impossible to read someone’s thoughts especially someone as introverted as Mina but Nayeon swears it’s written all over the Japanese girl’s face.

_Why would I not choose you?_

_Because I'm not the right choice._

“So, you made the choice for me.” 

Nayeon breaks eye contact. “I never liked him but he made some serious strong points. You have to be 100% focused. You worked hard for this and you can’t be distracted. And I'm a distraction.”

“Are you still breaking up with me?”

“No.” Nayeon slipped both hands in her pockets. “But you are. With me.”

“I’m not going to.”

“Mina, we can’t just pick up where we left off. I feel like we both need more time to get over some things. Don’t you agree?”

Mina had thought about it – all those sleepless nights in Switzerland that she always blamed on the jet lag. It’s true that they can’t just jump right back in like nothing happened but Mina can be very defiant when she wants to be. “I'm not breaking up with you, but I'm giving us the space we need.”

Silence.

They stayed in front of the jellyfish tank for a few more minutes, just watching the red squiggly creatures go about their own business in the water. No one spoke anything else until Nayeon hears a huff and then Mina’s gone.

Nayeon spent another half an hour in the aquarium not because she wanted to check out more underwater creatures but because she got lost again – she still couldn’t figure out how to read the map. They definitely need to make this more visitor friendly. 

But walking aimlessly inside the aquarium helped calm her heart. She wanted nothing more than to go back to how things were before – when her only worries are about college and Mina would sneak in the middle of the night to kiss those worries away.

***

It’s 11:30 PM and Jihyo just got back to the dorm from her hair salon appointment. They normally don’t accommodate late reservations but the company pulled their cards and Jihyo finally got the hair extensions she wanted for this comeback.

She walks into the kitchen to get something to drink and finds Mina sitting by the kitchen island, drinking. She opens the fridge, grabs her drink and goes to sit beside the sullen Japanese.

“I’m guessing the talk didn’t go well.” Jihyo said carefully.

“Taesung oppa told her to stop seeing me.”

“What?!”

“That’s the thing she was hiding from me.” Mina swirls the wine before taking a sip.

“Wait, wait, wait. I don’t get it.” Jihyo furrowed her brows. “What did Taesung oppa do?”

Mina turns to face Jihyo. “He went to see Nayeon several times and told her to either break up with me or my career, our careers, will be over.”

Jihyo can’t believe what she’s hearing. “He was doing things behind your back?!”

Mina didn’t really hear Jihyo. “I'm so mad at him. But I can’t really call him out on what he did, can I?” She exhales, massaging her temples. “I don’t want to think anymore. I’m so exhausted.”

***

_Peaches_ is doing really well after its opening. Thanks to the online articles from both Korean and Japanese bloggers, it became the newest addition to Seoul’s hippest go-to places. And Momo was more than happy with all the attention that café’s getting.

She was going through her inbox when she came across an email with an @div3.jype.com domain. Aha, this must be for their managers’ year-end party.

She weighs in on whether or not to accept the proposition considering what just happened between Nayeon and the manager. It would be a great PR for the café if a major agency hires them but she doesn’t want to betray Nayeon.

 _Naynay_.

They haven’t spoken since the college girl left but that doesn’t change the fact that Momo would still consider her opinion on this.

She just opened the email when she hears a knock on her door.

“Come in.” Momo calls out.

She looks up and sees a pink haired girl wearing a beret enter the office followed by a man, both are wearing masks.

“Oh, hi.” Momo smiles. _When will these KPop Idols stop sneaking into my café?_

Jihyo removes her masks and just smiles at her. "Do you have a minute?"

"Sure. What can I do for you?" _W_ _hat is this about?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Momo did make a move.  
> Dubu didn't hold Sana. It was the other way around.  
> And Mina and Nayeon finally got to talk.  
> Thoughts?


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decisions.
> 
> >_<  
> Unbeta-ed, please excuse any/all errors.

**Taesung Oppa**

Where are you?

Everyone’s already here

Jihyo shuts the engine of her car and lets out a heavy sigh. _This is crazy._ She was about to type in a reply when she sees the tall manager walking into the basement parking. He immediately approached Jihyo’s car as soon as he spotted her and motioned for her to step out of the vehicle.

“Where have you been? I’ve been calling you earlier. Your recording schedule got moved to four and now everyone has to stay and rehearse longer.”

“I was taking care of something.”

“Alone? You know how risky that is. You’re not as discreet as Mina.”

Jihyo chose not to respond to that. She was still thinking of the best way to approach the manager after everything she's found out. She's a little bit overwhelmed, to be honest.

The tall manager ushers her into the building and into the elevator.

“Oppa?” Jihyo decided to just ask the question. “How did you get those pictures of Nayeon?”

“What pictures?”

“The ones you sent Mina.”

Taesung looks at the small girl beside him with a straight face. “It’s none of your business.”

“How is it not my business when it directly affected one of my members?”

“Jihyo, drop it.”

But Jihyo won’t. “Did you have anything to do with that viral photo of her with Bam?”

“I don’t know what you want to get out from all these but you should stop asking silly questions.” Taesung said in a calm voice but Jihyo can hear the danger in his tone. “You should know what happens when you meddle with things you don't know.”

The elevator dings and the doors open. Manager Taesung immediately walks out and motions for Jihyo to follow him to the dance studio where the rest of the girls are waiting.

Their training and other schedules had been awkward ever since they got back from their trip. The tension between Mina and the tall manager was unnoticed by other people in their team but Jihyo and the rest of the girls could feel it.

And knowing that Mina won’t confront their manager, Jihyo had decided to take matters into her own hands. She pulled her phone out and typed a quick text before entering the room.

**PJ**

Im prolly gonna lose my job

Let’s do it

***

Nayeon spends most of her after school hours in her favorite corner at the Minatozaki restaurant. Sana would always make sure to join her when she’s not busy and Dahyun would also join them after she gets off from her part time job. 

Yes. The Tofu Princess is now part of the working class. She needed the extra money to fix the heater on her car. Nayeon offered to pay for it, saying that she was the reason it broke – being a California girl, she’s still not used to the Korean cold weather – but Dahyun declined because: 

1.) Her father’s still teaching her the art of handling money and; 

2.) She already feels bad about not spending more time with Nayeon specially now, because even if the latter wouldn’t say it out loud, she and Sana can see just how miserable the Korean interior designer is therefore, taking her money is a no-no. 

Nayeon, on the other hand, is just glad that she has projects to finish before their holiday break that she was able to take her mind off ~~Mina~~ other things. She knows she made the right decision. She knows it’s smart to wait. Wait until she can look at Mina again without seeing that skinny boy’s hands on her arms, his lips on her –

_Stop and just finish this swatch board now. Dubu promised to buy drinks later. That should help with sleep._

But it didn’t. 

After coming home from their drinking sesh and helping Sana carry a drunk Dahyun to her bedroom, Nayeon finds herself on her bedroom floor, clutching a pillow close to her chest, watching the latest episode of Twice TV 5. She would never admit it – though she bet her bestfriends already know this – but she actually looks forward to 6 PM when the KPop group’s social media accounts upload videos from their European trip.

_Why didn’t I think of giving her flowers?_

_I should’ve thought about that cause she looked so beautiful carrying three stems of tulips around Switzerland._

_How do you walk with so much elegance? You’re still a penguin though, ha!_

_Yay you for winning that chocolate competition!_

_Aww Minari you’re so cold. You should’ve worn a thicker coat._

_Maybe I should get you an alpenhorn too? That’ll be funny._

_I can give you a thousand more earrings if you had lost that one._

_I’ll give you everything you want._

Nayeon fell asleep on the floor with tears stained cheeks and an unsent message on her phone.

**Softie**

I miSs you soo mjchhhhhu

***

Mina immediately recognized the smell of breakfast as she walks down the stairs. _Is it possible?_ She knew it was a shot in the dark but she was still disappointed when she sees Jeongyeon in an apron, flipping eggs in a pan.

“Hey Mina-chan.” Jeongyeon smiles when Mina entered the kitchen. “You want some breakfast?” 

“Unnie, is that…”

“Yeah.” She gives Mina a small smile. “The kids wanted Nayeon’s breakfast of the champions and I’m doing my best to recreate it.”

“Did you talk to her?”

“Not me.” Jeongyeon shakes her head. “Chaeyoung-ah spoke with her earlier. She sent the recipe, though I think I missed something cause it doesn’t taste like hers. It’s not bad, but something’s missing.”

“Did you add chili flakes?”

“Ah that’s why. That girl really likes spicy food.” The eldest member shuts the stove off and turns to face Mina. “I’ll prepare you a plate, alright?”

“Alright.” Mina plays with the salt and pepper shaker on the table since she left her phone in her bedroom and she needed another form of morning distraction while she waits for Jeongyeon. And it’s not like Nayeon would be messaging her anyway, so yeah, no need to always bring her phone.

After attempting to plate the breakfast meal as inviting as possible, Jeongyeon removes her apron and joins Mina at the kitchen island.

“You guys are still on time out?” Jeongyeon starts, putting the plates on the table.

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Isn’t that a break up?”

“No, it’s… It’s not a break up. Though, Nayeon thinks we should.” 

"And what do you think?"

Mina shrugs as she mashed the avocado slices on her plate.

“Are you ever going to talk Taesung oppa about what he did?”

“I don’t know if I even want to. I mean I'm really mad about what he did and Nayeon and I…” Mina groans in frustration. _Honestly, it’s too early to feels this way._ “Do you think he was just doing his job? I mean, he’s been in the company longer than us.”

“But did he really have to go as far as stalking your girlfriend?”

“I can’t just go and tell on him, unnie. I don’t want to involve you guys. I don't want our group to get in trouble”

“You already know that I’m with you all the way, right?” Jeongyeon talks with a mouthful of food. “All of us are.”

“They might cancel our contract if I go against him.”

“So? Let’s build our own company then. Let’s use yours and Tzuyu’s trust funds. Or Ji’s boyfriend can adopt us.”

“Unnie.”

“Sisters first, remember?”

Their moment was ruined but the loud notification on Jeongyeon’s phone. Mina really needs to remind their group’s _Eomma_ to put it on a lower volume or on vibrate because it never fails to make every member jump in surprise whenever Jeongyeon receives a message.

Mina was drowning her omelette in ketchup when Jeongyeon slides the phone to her, letting her read the message in their group chat.

**Yongjin Oppa:**

Get ready

PD-nim set up a meeting

JH here

I’ll pick you up in 30

***

Mina thought it’ll just be their group and their managers but the meeting turned out to be a much bigger gathering than expected. Bambam’s with two of GOT7’s managers; Daniel’s with his team – manager and legal advisor; And the head of JYP Ent company’s legal team is also in attendance, sitting beside their CEO.

“You both understand what will happen now, right?”

No one answered.

Mina keeps her gaze on her hand, intertwined with Jihyo’s. She avoids looking at Taesung and Bambam. She just wants this meeting to be over. 

“Taesung-ssi?” PD-nim spoke again, with more authority.

“Yes, PD-nim.”

“All your access will be deactivated immediately. Access cards, mobiles phones, car keys, IDs, corporate cards. You have to surrender everything that belongs to the company. You will also be blacklisted. You can’t work for other entertainment agencies. And if any information gets out, if Dispatch posts anything about this, the company will take legal actions."

Apparently, Bambam's personal manager, Joon, was working with Taesung the entire time. He was the one who sent Taesung the viral photo.

“The café owner will also be pressing charges.” PD-nim added.

“What café?”

The CEO nods to Jihyo, giving her the floor.

“With all due respect, oppa, there’s no need to deny it.” Jihyo sits up straight without letting go of Mina’s hand. “We got a copy of the CCTVs from the coffee shop and the surrounding establishments too. Mr. Kang had his team analyze the videos and they got a clear footage of you and Joon oppa getting off a car and then approaching the shop.”

“I – we didn’t – “

“And Ms. Im may also file for harassment.”

Mina shoots a questioning look to Jihyo. _Have you been talking to Nayeon too?_

Jihyo squeezed her hand, a move telling her that they will talk later.

“Bambam, Mina-ya, I think you should consider your options too. The legal team will make time for you.”

Another silent moment.

The CEO is very disappointed about the whole situation. He gets up from his seat and walks towards the two managers who were seated at the opposite end of the large table. PD-nim opens up the folder he was holding and placed it on the table, in front of them.

It’s a complication of financial reports from audit and investigation results c/o Kang Daniel’s connections that include pictures of the tall manager meeting a Dispatch photographer at a bar's back alley and of him coming out of different casinos taken during the wee hours. Taesung scans the file in front of him before quietly closing it.

“Taesung, since you're Joon's senior, this is the chance for you to tell me why you did what you did. I trusted you, both of you, with these kids and you’ve been feeding them to the wolves all this time. For what? For money?”

“Seems like you already know the answer to your questions, PD-nim.”

“You were one of the few people who were there with me when I built this company.“

“And yet, here I am, still just a manager who babysits your artists.”

The doors of the conference room open after a couple of knocks with three security personnel, looking at their CEO, waiting for additional instructions. PD-nim gestures towards Taesung and Joon. The big burly men approached them, lightly tapped on their shoulders, and then escorted them out of the boardroom.

And then they were just gone. 

***

“I talked to my parents and we’re going to proceed with the case. Atty. Myoi recommended a lawyer here in Seoul and I’ll be meeting with him tomorrow.” Momo stops at the mention of the name and looks at Nayeon who’s looking back at her with wide eyes. “She is our family lawyer after all.”

“Right, of course.” Nayeon nods and then continues browsing _Peaches_ new menu.

“What about you? What are your plans?”

"Hmm." Nayeon puts the menu down on the coffee table. “If I go through with it, I’d have to contact our family lawyer too and then he’d tell my brother and then my brother would get so worried he might send an entire firm here, so no, I'm not going to take legal actions. For now.” She points. “I'm just glad you finally caught the ones responsible for almost ruining the café’s opening.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me of that awful _awful_ day.“

“It was _awful_.”

Momo bites her bottom lip. Of course, that day was heart breaking, especially for Nayeon. “You talked to her yet?”

“No, I’ve only spoken with Jihyo and Chaeng.” Nayeon leans back to her seat. “The ball’s in her court now. We’ll talk when she’s ready.”

***

Mina doesn’t really hang out at their company’s rooftop garden because it was always filled with trainees and employees looking for some breather from their busy day. Thankfully tonight was different, it’s like the world knows how much she need this alone time after that very stressful meeting.

Well, alone time with Jihyo.

“I always thought it was strange that oppa would always have this look on his face whenever he hears us talking about her. It's like a scowl or something.” Jihyo cracks her neck muscles, she needs a massage. “I just know that he didn’t really like the fact that you actually started a real relationship. But it was also confusing cause he kind of like, allows it. ”

“Well, Nayeon never liked him too.” Mina scoffs. “I still can’t believe he did all those things.”

“Some people would go to great lengths to feed their addiction.”

“Why didn’t we notice it when it was happening?”

“He’s so good at being discreet. Remember all the tips he was giving us?”

"Yeah." Exhales. “Thanks, Ji, for doing this. You know I was really scared that we were going to get kicked out.”

“I was scared too. But I can't just let it slide and I did have a plan B.”

"Plan B?" Mina squints. “You mean Konnect?”

“Dani offered.”

“Dani?” Mina teased.

“Shut up.” She nudged Mina. “We’ve been playing detective since I told him about what happened to the coffee shop. We both thought it was too much of a coincidence that it happened the same time your parents were here. We actually suspected Nayeon at first.” Jihyo chuckles.

“Yeah, well she wouldn’t do that to Momo.” Mina leans her head on Jihyo’s shoulder.

“Hey, I meant it when I said I’d help you get her back.”

“I know.” _But she doesn’t want me back, Ji._

***

**_DISPATCH:_ **

_JYP Ent released a statement denying the dating rumors involving their artists._

_The company also warned that they will take legal actions against those who continue to spread this false information._

**_COMMENTS:_ **

_Took them long enough to actually address this issue._

_Finally! So can everybody stop talking about it now?_

_Ngl they look good together._

_Of course they’re not. It’s all just publicity._

_Now lets bring back this video of mina with her friend when she was in japan_

_Im telling you, Mina’s dating that girl_

_ISTG YOU GUYS NEED TO STOP TALKING ABOUT HER DATING ANYONE_

**_DISPATCH:_ **

_JYP Ent announces #TWICE is preparing for their Japan Debut and a comeback for early next year._

_A valentines gift for all ONCEs._

**_COMMENTS:_ **

_So after threatening us, JYP decided to excite us with this comeback news?_

_J-Once! Our moment has arrived!_

***

**Sailor Moon**

Are you sure about what you’re doing?

**Dubutiful**

No

But I believe I got this job for a reason

To bring people together

**Sailor Moon**

You’ve been saying that for 3days already

**Dubutiful**

The day has finally come

**Sailor Moon**

Nabong will kill you

You won’t be missed

**Dubutiful**

Relax

I got this

TTYL

**Sailor Moon**

Laters

Dahyun slips her phone back into her front pockets as soon as she sees Nayeon entering the studio. The younger Korean had taken a part time job at a production studio and right now she's a key grip best girl for a music video shoot.

“You seriously need to stop making me your runner. I'm the bestfriend without a car, remember?” Nayeon said as she hands Dahyun a brown envelope. “Why can’t Sana do this?”

“She’s with Joy.” She checks the contents of the manila folder.

“Again? That’s like the second date this week. And it’s only Thursday.”

“Seems like the girl wanted to make up for breaking Sailor Moon’s heart the first time, I don’t know.” Dahyun shrugs.

Nayeon can hear bitterness in her bestfriend’s voice. Maybe Sana is not a good topic now. _Let's change the topic._ “Are you taking all your vitamins? Cause you started having memory loss when you started working on this job. You’d always forget something.”

“This is the last time, I promise.” Dahyun pouts.

Nayeon rolls her eyes.

“Hey, unnie, here.” She gives Nayeon a set pass. “Why don’t you hang around? We only just need to shoot a few more scenes and then we’ll get out of here and I’ll buy you dinner. Yeah?”

 _This tofu doesn’t call me unnie unless…_ That’s definitely suspicious but Nayeon decided to brush it off. “Works for me.”

Dahyun squeezed Nayeon’s arm and points to one of the chairs by the wall, silently telling her to wait there.

Nayeon just nodded as she pins the set pass ID on her jeans, watching Dahyun walk away. She had never been in an actual film studio before and as she looks around the place, she tries to analyze the set design and what the music video is about.

The set looks like one of those old records and video stores that sell almost everything from electronics, movies, vinyl records, books and even candies. 

“Nayeon?”

_Oh you’ve got to be kidding me._

She slowly turns around and was met by the girl that’s been haunting her dreams in the past few weeks. In her dreams they’d be running around the cobbled streets of Europe, having picnic by a lake and holding each other’s hand while enjoying a cool sunny stroll inside old castles. 

“Hey.” 

“Hi.”

“Um, I dropped something off for Dahyun – I didn’t know – she didn’t tell me – “

“I was actually wondering when she’d bring you here.”

“Yeah…”

“Ah-huh…”

Where's that interruption when they need it?

This is the perfect time to be interrupted.

Anybody?

Please.

Finally, the universe takes pity on them and a stylist calls out for Mina.

Mina nods at their stylist then turns back to Nayeon. “It’s our last day of shoot. Don’t worry Taesung oppa’s not here.” She added when she noticed the Korean girl looking around. “He was fired. You probably already know that.”

“Yeah.” Nayeon nods. “I just got used to seeing him around in this kind of set up, you know.”

“Yeah. Can we talk later?”

“Sure.”

The other members also saw Nayeon and they waved at her.

“Sadness unnie will take care of you.”

Mina flashed a shy smile before leaving Nayeon with their manager.

“Nayeon-ssi, are you a fan of Michael Jackson?” Sadness unnie asks while guiding her to where they can monitor the shoot.

“This is a Michael Jackson song?”

“Well, it’s Jackson 5’s, but you know.”

***

The girl group filmed several takes of song's chorus and Nayeon wonders if the universe planned all this. Well, Dahyun planned this since the girl’s been working on the set for three days now. _How did she manage to keep this from me?_

The Trio's new group chat name: HOLIDAY _GANG_

**Grinch**

@Santa

Did you know about this?

**Santa**

Idk what you’re talking about

Im on a date

**Grinch**

Dubu set this up

**Santa**

Then just say thank you

**Elsa**

You’re welcome Nabong

Nayeon shakes her head and brings her attention back to the set as the director calls for another run of the dance sequence.

Mina always looks so good in red. With her pin up hair style and make up, Nayeon admires how professional the girl is. As soon as the camera starts rolling the Japanese ballerina transforms into a Japanese goddess.

_Oh baby give me one more chance, show you that I love you  
Won't you please let me, back in your heart  
Oh darlin' I was blind to let you go, let you go baby  
But now since I see you in his arms, I want you back_

_Seriously?_ Nayeon fights the urge to roll her eyes at how unbelievable the situation is. They haven’t seen or even messaged each other for almost two weeks and now she’s here watching Mina sing and dance to their cover of Jackson 5’s _I Want You Back._

_Tryin' to live without your love is one long sleepless night  
Let me show you girl that I know wrong from right_

Mina also finds it so crazy that she’s singing her lines with Nayeon only just a few feet away from her. After spending all her free time thinking things through and finally coming up with a decision the universe decides to play mind games with her.

_The universe is out to get me._

***

**Korean Bruh**

Nayeonnie

I'm sorry I didn’t tell you sooner

**LA Girl**

I’ll forgive you

Over a bowl of jajangmyeon

And 2 gyeranppang

Make that 3

**Korean Bruh**

You got it

I’ll be out in a bit

Nayeon’s still at the same corner she was sitting in for the last hour, stealing glances at Mina and she’s pretty sure the Japanese girl’s doing the same. She did miss seeing Mina in her element and watching her performance in person. Those who have only seen her on the screen of their TVs or phones are missing out a lot.

 _"And that's a wraaaaap!"_ Finally, the director yelled and the production crew starts packing the equipment and clearing the set.

Right after the shoot, the Kpop idols were thrown to a quick interview with a Korean music magazine. The writer had prepared several questions about their time in Switzerland and their upcoming Japanese debut and comeback. The questions were mostly generic until –

“So, since you girls are already on your second year and most KPop idols have a 3-year-dating ban, what are your thoughts about dating co-idols?” The writer asked. “Mina-ssi?”

 _Of course, she'd ask me this. What's the script again?_ "We’re all focused on our projects as a group so dating is not really in my mind right now."

“Of course you’re all very busy. You’re the hottest group in KPop at the moment. But our readers would like to know what your ideal future boyfriend would be like.” The writer urges.

Mina looks at Jihyo who gives her an encouraging nod.

“Um, I guess someone who’s passionate with what they do. Someone who thinks a lot.” Mina’s gaze lands on Nayeon who was watching. “Someone who treats their friends like family. Someone who’d buy milk and cereal for me even if they don’t really like them.”

“Aww, that sounds so sweet.” The writer giggles. “It seems like you’re looking for a perfect man and I hope you find him in the future, after your dating ban, of course.” The writer laughs.

“Yeah.” Mina forced a laugh.

“Great. Now, let’s move on to the maknaes.”

***

It's 10 AM and Nayeon's too lazy to cook her own food so she decided to just order from her favorite take out place and got so excited when she hears the knocks she'd been waiting for. She opens the door and sees Mina standing outside, holding the plastic bag of her precious rabeokki.

“Delivery boy gave you my rabeokki again, huh?”

“Yeah.”

Nayeon opens the door wider and nods for her to come in.

“You disappeared yesterday.” Mina said as she puts the bag on the table. 

“Yeah.” Nayeon chose to stand by the kitchen counter, creating enough space between them. “Dubu and I had plans.”

“Right. So, yesterday was our last day of filming the music video. That was part of our Japan debut.”

“Wow. Congratulations. It’s finally happening.”

“Yeah.” Mina gives a small smile and gestures to the box she was tucked in her other arm. “I got you this from Switzerland. I meant to give it to you when we got back but…” She chuckles nervously. “So, it’s just been sitting in my room for a while. I know how much you like hand-made stuff.” 

She placed the box on the dining table, next to the bag of rabeokki. “It’s a clock.”

“Thanks.”

“I wanted to talk to you about what you said. You know, about taking some time apart. And I think you’re right.”

Nayeon can see sincerity and fear written all over Mina's face.

“I love you. So much. So much that I could risk everything for you. And if it was just me I would. But – huh – but there are other people involved and they need me to be smart about the decisions I make. So…” Mina swallows that lump in her throat, reminding herself what she came here to do. “So, I'm breaking up with you.”

“Okay.” 

“Nayeon – “

“It’s okay. It’s a good decision.” _Why is my voice so shaky?_ Nayeon clears her throat. “ _Very_ good decision.”

Buzz.

Her intercom buzzed.

_Not now. Whoever you are please go away._

Another buzz.

Nayeon huffs and holds a finger up as she goes to answer the intercom.

“Yeah?” Nayeon’s irritation is evident.

“Yeah, delivery for Lia?” An unsure voice answered in the other line.

“You got the wrong unit. There’s no Lia here.”

“Really? Ah, the order is for unit 903?”

“This is 903 but there’s no Lia here. Check with your resto.”

“But it’s already paid for – ”

“Check with your resto, dude.” 

Nayeon waited for a couple of seconds just to make sure there won’t be any more buzzing before turning back to see that Mina hadn’t not moved an inch, still standing by the dining table.

“Sorry about that.” Nayeon decided to grab a cold drink just to break the tension that’s starting to fill the room. “Do you want something to drink?”

“No, I’m alright.” Mina caught a glimpse of a milk carton inside the fridge. _Is she drinking milk now?_

Nayeon takes her time opening the fruit juice bottle she's probably not going to drink. She just wanted this moment to last longer. She looks at the transparent box Mina brought with her. It’s a miniature version of a grandfather clock but it probably chimes just as loud as the life-size version.

She nods at the clock. “You really are like Cinderella, you know. You have like, a curfew. When the clock strikes twelve. I get to have you in the evening but most mornings you’d just be gone. Like our time had always been limited.”

Mina looks at her with apologetic eyes.

“I know I said I didn’t care that it wouldn’t be easy being with you but I didn’t think it would be this hard.” Nayeon continued. “What I’m trying to say is it finally hit me with the reality that I’m just an ordinary college girl and you’re this famous Idol that everyone loves." 

“You know this fame thing isn’t really real. I'm still the Japanese girl who loves video games and thinks that sharks are cute.”

“I know. That's how I'm always going to think of you.” Nayeon bites the inside of her cheeks, controlling the way her voice breaks. "I love you. I don’t want you to end up hating me for making you choose. You have your whole career ahead of you. So again, you made a good decision. The right decision." 

Mina nods. Nayeon’s making so much sense but she feels like she’s actually losing her mind. Her knees are also slowly losing their strength. _We're really breaking up._

“I'm also going back to LA for the holidays. And after I graduate.”

“Right. You’re just here for college.” Mina said quietly. _How did I forget that?_

Nayeon takes a few brave steps. If this is the last time she's see Mina this close, Nayeon wants to have her face tattooed on her mind.

“Mina.” Her name tastes so bittersweet in Nayeon's mouth. “What we had was real, right? It wasn’t just a fairy tale.”

“It was so much better than a fairy tale.” Mina looks straight to her favorite brown eyes, searching for some kind of relief because she’s hurting inside. “I’m going to miss you.”

She cups Nayeon's face and leans in to kiss her cheek. It’s damp and warm and full of apologies. 

Nayeon closed her eyes and just savored the feeling of these soft lips kissing her one last time. 

Mina holds on to her for a few more moments, before pulling away. She quickly slips her shoes on and walks out the apartment before her emotions take over.

Leaving Nayeon staring at a closed door, her vision blurry from the unshed tears. _I already miss you._

***

December.

The Minatozakis have decided to renovate their backyard just in time for their family’s holiday reunion and their daughter had somehow talked them into including her room in the renovation. And Nayeon had been ~~forced to~~ helping Sana redecorate her bedroom.

It only took a week for Nayeon to finish the new design and before she knew it, she’s already being dropped off at Incheon Airport for her flight back to Los Angeles.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come?” Nayeon wiggles her brows. “I can buy your tickets right now. Business class.”

“I’d love to but my parents are going to kill me if I miss our family reunion. It was their turn to host this year and they want to show me off.”

“You just want to spend more time with your _girlfriend.”_ Dahyun scoffed.

“And what if I do? At least I have a girlfriend keeping me warm during this cold holiday season. What do you have?”

“My dignity. My pride. You wouldn’t know what those are since you took her back, even after all the mean things she said to you before.”

Nayeon shakes her head. Her bestfriends have been bickering more often now that Sana's gotten back together with Joy.

She knows Dahyun never liked Joy – Nayeon also doesn’t – and they’ve already told Sana in multiple occasions how uncomfortable the younger Korean gets whenever Joy’s around. But Sana ignores them and would even make out with her girlfriend in front of them. _I swear she’s doing that on purpose._

Ding.

**Momo H**

Already at the airport?

**Nayeon**

Yup

My divorced parents dropped me off

**Momo H**

Still battling over custody

**Nayeon**

Separate holidays are a pain in the ass

LOL

**Momo H**

Well have a safe flight.

See you when you’re back

Coffee on me haha

**Nayeon**

Happy Holidays Momoring

**Momo H**

Enjoy the holidays, Nay

Nayeon looks up to see her bestfriends had stop fighting and are now standing in front of the flight information board with Sana’s arms wrapped around Dahyun. _Please give these two the holiday miracle they deserve._

Things didn’t work out the way she would've wanted them to but she realized that even with her heart still aching, it had been a good year. She has wonderful people in her life. She met the most amazing girl. She fell in love, she’s still in love. It would take some time, but she’ll move on. ~~Hopefully.~~ Eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there you have it.  
> It took awhile for this chapter to be posted.  
> What will happen when Nayeon returns from her holiday break?  
> Sana + Joy?  
> Dubu? Momo?  
> Mina?
> 
> I honestly didn't think the Minayeon storm would last this long >_<  
> I hope this chapter is not too angsty.
> 
> PS.  
> I know the Teasung oppa revelation may not be what some of you anticipated. I didn't want that to be the 'heavy' part of the chapter. I hope that's the last time we see him though.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back, Nayeon.

The Im family house is just less than an hour away from Downtown LA where _Im Interiors, LLC_ is located. After their parents’ passing, Jinyoung had decided to move out of his bachelor’s pad (he’s still keeping it though for other personal reasons) and move back into their house to look after Nayeon who was still underage at the time.

Being the CEO of a furniture company, Jinyoung was able to do remodelling projects on many parts of the house with the exception of the breakfast nook, because that was their Ma’s favorite spot, and Nayeon’s bedroom, for obvious reasons.

Last day of the year and Nayeon tries to enjoy the chilly yet sunny California morning lounging at her bedroom’s balcony with her laptop on video call and a cereal bowl in hand.

_“Are you wearing matching sweaters?”_ Sana shouts over her noisy background.

“Tradition.” Nayeon laughs at the very shaky video of her bestfriends, welcoming the new year together in Seoul.

“You both know she’ll slip into something less traditional by eight.” Jinyoung teased, sitting on the chair next to Nayeon.

“Hey.” Nayeon lightly pushed him away.

 _“Countdown!”_ Dahyun screams through the laptop screen. _“Here we go! Ten! ~ ”_

Three!

Two!

One!

_“Happy New Year, Nayeonnie!”_

_“Happy New Year, Nabong!”_

_“Happy New Year, oppa!”_

“Happy New Year!”

After a few moments of screaming and fireworks, the video call disconnects – Nayeon’s pretty sure Sana had accidentally pressed on the end button. The sound of a clock chiming takes over once the call ended. 

“Your mini grandfather clock’s in KST, huh?” Jinyoung nods at the sound coming from inside the bedroom.

“Yeah. I didn’t even bother switching it to pacific.” Nayeon wasn’t really sure why she brought the clock with her to LA. She just remembers wrapping it in one of her softest cardigan before putting it inside her luggage. “Why are you up so early anyway?”

“Tradition.” He gets up from his seat and walks inside, towards the dresser where the clock is still counting down to twelve.

“Korean New Year countdown is _my_ tradition with them.” Nayeon gestures between her and her brother. “ _Our_ tradition doesn’t start til 8 PM.”

“Well, I needed to go to the office for last minute checks before tonight’s party.” He picks up the clock. “This is really beautiful. Swiss made?”

“Yeah.” Nayeon shrugs.

Jinyoung pursed his lips while admiring the clock’s beautiful design. His sister hadn’t talked about Mina since she arrived and based on the online news he’s been reading about the KPop group, he’s come to the conclusion that the girls have broken up. His suspicions were confirmed when he turns the clock around and sees an engraving at the bottom of the glass case.

나는 너에게 돌아 오는 길을 찾을 것이다 under what appears to be little stars.

“So, when will you tell me?” He carefully asked.

Nayeon shuts her eyes. She knew this conversation will come up. “Tell you what?”

Jinyoung puts the clock back on the dresser, walks out to the balcony and leans on the railings. The Im siblings definitely share a bond that words are not needed to actually communicate with each other.

He decided not to push it. “So, I guess I’ll see you tonight. Don’t be late.” And then he walks out, leaving his sister alone.

Once alone, Nayeon decided to check on Twice’s online account where each member had already posted individual New Year’s greetings to their fans. She’s been feeling this urge of messaging the Japanese ballerina since she left Korea but she knows she’ll be overstepping the unspoken boundary they have created when they broke up.

_Fuck it._

She groans in frustration and drops her phone on the table next to her laptop.

On the other side of the world, the KPop group had just returned to their backstage dressing room after performing for a broadcasting network’s New Year Countdown special – another important holiday celebrated away from their own families.

Tzuyu was sending her parents a message when she accidentally tapped on a notification of a new comment under her online post. She was about to ignore it when something caught her attention.

“Mina unnie.” She calls out for her Japanese unnie who’s sitting next to her.

“Hmm?” Mina hummed as she loosens the collar of her dress.

“I think this is for you.”

“Eh?” Mina frowns.

Tzuyu scoots closer and holds the phone close to Mina so the latter can see what’s on the screen.

**_@IMNY_ ** _Happy new year_

***

1:30 AM and the _Im Interiors LLC’_ s showroom is still buzzing with employees enjoying the New Year party Jinyoung had prepared for them. It had been a great year for the company and he wants to make their employees feel how much he appreciates all their hard work.

“Where’s Kelly?” Nayeon asked as she joins him at his table.

“She already left. She had to catch a red eye to Hong Kong.”

“Wow. She was only here for like, the countdown.”

“Yes, well, that’s what you get for dating a VP. Someone has to make sure the company continues making money.”

“While the CEO parties.” Nayeon jokes.

“While the CEO parties, yeah.” Jinyoung laughs. “All I have was really just the title. She does all the works.”

“Yeah.”

They look ahead and watch the chief designer in a drunken dance battle with the head of finance.

“Remember when Pops and Ma almost got divorced?” Jinyoung asked. “Do you remember why that almost happened?”

“And we’re talking about that now because…?” _That is so out of the blue._

“Just humor me.”

It's a topic they definitely don’t talk much about but given that Jinyoung always gets nostalgic when he’s tipsy, Nayeon give in to her brother’s whim.

“I have very vague memories of that year.”

“Well, that’s cause you were only six.” He pointed out. “You see, Pops thought that he was holding back Ma from her full potential. She was a great artist. I mean look at that.” He points to the large abstract painting at their buildings reception area. “That’s been hanging there for almost twenty-five years now. It’s even older than you and yet it still amazes everyone who sees it.”

It’s true. Their mother was a talented painter and had tried several different styles in her younger years but she stuck with abstract. Most of their furniture’s earlier designs were based on Mrs. Im’s paintings.

“Pops thought she was just settling for a life of a housewife cause that’s tradition.” Jinyoung continued. “So, he got her into an art school in France without her knowing. That pissed Ma off. She was so furious that she just packed our stuff and we flew to Japan. Me, you and her. You definitely got that _runaway drama queen_ stunt from her.”

Nayeon rolls her eyes.

“That’s when we first met the Hirais.”

“Hmm, now I remember being pushed down the slide. Momo didn’t want to share it with me."

“She was a bratty kid.” He laughed, still reminiscing. “We were there for the entire summer break and when we returned for school, Ma stayed in the guest room for almost half a year.” 

“Yeah.”

“So, moral of the story,” He turns to face Nayeon. “We always want what’s best for the people that we love but we sometimes forget to ask them if that’s what they really want. Ma loved her art but she wanted to raise a family. It took a while for Pops to really accept that. Looking back, I believe they just needed time apart to understand why they did what they did and, you know, forgive each other.”

Nayeon now understands why her brother started this conversation. And it doesn’t matter who between her two bestfriends told him about what happened, nothing can change the fact that she and Mina are no longer together.

“Mina and I, we’re a different story.”

“Of course. No two love stories are ever the same but one thing’s always true,” He pats his baby sister’s shoulder. “True love always finds its way back.”

Nayeon just looks at him.

“I know I’m drunk but I just feel that it’s going to be another great year, kiddo. Believe you me.”

***

Mina sits on the floor of their dance studio, monitoring the group’s latest run for their new song on their manager’s phone. The girls are working almost eighteen hours a day, perfecting their choreography for their upcoming showcase.

“So, what do you think?” Jihyo asked after scooting closer to the Japanese ballerina.

“Hmm,” Mina clicks her tongue, thinking. “This transition right here,” She points to the screen. “It feels a bit off.”

“Hmm.” Jihyo taps on the play button and watches the _transition_ Mina was talking about.

“See?”

“Is it the blockings?”

“No, the blockings’ okay. It’s the travel.” Mina bites her bottom lip. “How many counts do you have travelling to the next formation? Four?”

“Four. Yeah.” Jihyo nods.

“Can you do it in three? So there won’t be any other movements by four? I mean aside from Tzu.” Mina suggested. “So, like one – two and three – you ~ “

"Ah, okay."

Jihyo quickly stands up to try Mina’s suggestion as the latter proceeds to beat box the tune, doing the choreography while still sitting. They did it a few times before they both agreed that it’s much better than the original choreography. 

After sending a quick message to their choreographer, Jihyo lies back down on the floor and Mina follows.

“I’m nervous.”

Jihyo turns to her side. “Is it about the song?”

“Yeah. I still can’t believe it’s in the track list. I didn’t really intend for it to be included in the album.”

“Then you shouldn’t have told Jeongyeon-ah. You know how much she loves showing you off. And PD-nim likes the lyrics. He thinks it’s going to be one of our best B-sides.”

“Ugh,” Mina groans as she stretched her right leg. “I just hope she gets to hear it too.”

“Well, let’s see. One of her bestfriends’ a certified Once and the other may still hate you, so it’s a 50/50 chance at this point.”

She knows Jihyo's just trying to lighten up her mood, but her anxiety is quickly taking over.

“It’s just, the more I think about it, the more it becomes unrealistic in my head. I mean, I’m the one who broke up with her, officially, then I go and write a song for her? I’m Taylor Swift!”

“O-kay, there T-swizzle. Maybe this is the universe’s way of making up to you for all the drama last year.”

“By having the whole world hear how pathetic I am for breaking up then wanting her back?” Mina mumbles as she buries her face in her hands.

“Hey. Come on. Why are you even thinking about that? It’s not like you have to tell the world who that song was for. The only person who needs to know is her.”

“But what if she doesn’t like it?”

“Mina-ya! You’re overthinking.” Jihyo rolls over so she’s side hugging Mina. “It’s going to be great.”

***

_Those are definitely not there when I left._

Nayeon was welcomed by a large billboard of Twice at Incheon Airport and she thought it was actually funny that the first face she recognized when she stepped out of the plane was Mina’s.

She had seen this picture on the group’s social media account – and she may have doubled tapped on it already – but the feeling it gives her especially now that she’s back in Seoul is quite overwhelming.

After dropping off her things at her apartment, Dahyun arrived to pick her up and they drove straight to the Minatozaki restaurant. Mrs. Minatozaki found out that Nayeon was arriving today and so the restaurant owners prepared a welcome back dinner for her.

“I see you finally gave in to uncle’s request for a TV here in the kitchen.” Nayeon said while she helps Mrs. Minatozaki set up the dining table in the kitchen.

“Oh no, don’t blame that on me.” Mr. Minatozaki calls out from behind the grill. “That’s all your auntie’s doing.”

Mrs. Minatozaki just laughs. “When Sattang’s cousins were here, all they talked about was having a TV up there so it won't be boring. The wouldn’t stop watching music videos and talking about their favorite singers.”

“Because they’re teenagers, Mom.” Sana butts in. “Their world revolves around whatever’s popular on TV.”

“Japanese pop music has changed over the years.” Mrs. Minatozaki stated, completely ignoring Sana. “Her cousins told me about this group called Twice who’s quite popular in Japan now.”

Nayeon froze.

Dahyun and Sana exchanged worried looks.

“Apparently, they’re a Korean group but they have a Japanese member.” The older woman continues, obviously not noticing the younger girls’ reactions. “One of them actually looks like Mina-chan.“

Mrs. Minatozaki may have just realized it when she looks at Nayeon who gives a small smile, then to her daughter who gives her a disapproving look.

“Nobody tells me anything around here anymore.” Mrs. Minatozaki shot her own version of a disapproving look to her daughter as she walks over to Nayeon. “Are you okay, Nayeon-ah?”

“Yes, auntie, don't worry about it. I'm okay.”

Of course everyone in the room can see that she’s not.

Sana mouthed a _Sorry_ to her best friend.

“Well, let me get your favorite beer then. You're going to enjoy tonight's meal.” The older woman kissed Nayeon temple before walking out of the kitchen. Being affectionate definitely runs in the Minatozaki blood.

***

The Trio’s at the back of the restaurant all cuddled up together in this cold January evening, drinking beer and catching up as if they haven’t been talking to each other every single day,

“I know you think you’re so slick when you left that comment on Tzuyu’s post.” Dahyun, who’s sitting in the middle, bumps her shoulder on Nayeon’s. “You thought we’d never bring it up, huh?”

“Nah, I know it’s only just a matter of time before you two would rub it in.”

“How are you holding up, Nayeonnie?” Sana asked while fixing the hoodie on Dahyun’s head. “Like really,how are you holding up?”

“It’s been almost two months, so…” Nayeon just shrugs her shoulders.

“Have you thought about her message on the clock?”

“All the time.” It’s the truth.

Nayeon looks at her the two people who’d been with her through all the ugly and messy _love_ problems she’s ever had. The two people who had never, not even once, judged her on the silly and sometimes questionable decisions she makes. She's feeling extremely cheesy so she extends her arms to reach Sana and pulls her in for a hug, sandwiching Dahyun in between them. 

Their mushy moment was ruined with sounds of heavy footsteps approaching.

They look up to see Joy with her arms crossed, sporting a scowl on her face. “What is she doing here?”

“Joy,” Sana warns in a sweet tone. “Don’t start.”

“Don’t start what? I haven’t done anything yet.”

It wasn’t really a surprise when Dahyun disentangles herself from Nayeon and Sana, stands up and fixes her jacket. “We’re just going to go.”

“No, Dahyunie, you don’t have to.” Sana reached for Dahyun but was only able to hold on to the hem of her jacket.

“Let her leave.” Joy raised an eyebrow to the younger Korean. “We’ve talked about this.”

“No, _you_ talked.” Sana almost scolded her girlfriend. 

Nayeon had also stood up to hold Dahyun in place. _No one’s going anywhere_. “What’s going on?”

“Well, your little friend over there is apparently trying to steal my girl.” Joy pointed at Dahyun.

“What?” Expressed in three different emotions – surprised, exasperated and amused.

“You know what Sana, I’m tired of this. Either she leaves or I leave. Your choice.”

_Ah, and that’s where you made the mistake, girlie._

“Then leave.” Sana shrugs at Joy, who looks at her like she’s said something so unbelievable.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” Sana gestures. “You can leave.”

“Are you being serious right now?”

“Dead serious. We’re done.”

Sana pulled Dahyun close as Joy looks at them, still confused at what just happened. 

“Whatever. Don’t come crawling back to me.”

The Trio remained silent, watching an angry girl slams the gate behind her as she leaves.

“Eww, Minatozaki Sana,” Nayeon teases after a while. “You came crawling to her?” Making a gagging sound.

Sana laughs as she leads Dahyun back to the bench they were sitting on.

“You finally did it.” Dahyun pats Sana’s leg.

“Hmm?” Nayeon frowns at her _little friend_ , questioning what she just said.

“Sana’s been meaning to break up with her for some time now. They've been arguing a lot.”

"And I didn't know about this?" Nayeon remained standing, looking at her seated bestfriends. “So why didn’t you do it sooner?” 

“I don’t know. I guess I was waiting for her to make that move.” Sana has her head resting on Dahyun’s shoulder. “And you weren’t here. You’re the break up expert, right?”

 _What the –_ Nayeon was genuinely shocked at the joke.

Sana looks up at her and grins. “Too soon?”

***

**_TWICE:_ **

_ONCE, will you be our Valentine?_

_YES or YES_

_THE 3RD MINI ALBUM_

_02.10 6PM_

**_DISPATCH:_ **

_#TWICE just released the teaser for their 3rd Mini Album #YESorYES_

_No doubt this album will be another smash hit for the hottest girl group of their generation._

**_COMMENTS:_ **

_Did anyone see this coming? WTF I was about to fall asleep._

_Y’all Im ready for this!_

_Im falling in love all over again._

_YES. I’LL BE YOUR VALENTINE!_

_SOTY. Im calling it! We going to get that 1st spot again!_

_The teaser feels great!_

_Issa certified hit_

_Let’s hit the daebak again LOL_

_The limit of twice beauty is endless. This concept is so refreshing!_

***

Nayeon finally locks her phone and drops it beside her on the bed. Her eyes hurt from watching the teaser video for more than ten times already. The concept looked different from the last music video she binge-watched and ~~Mina~~ the girls look so great.

She turns to lie on her back and stares at the ceiling, imagining scenarios where Mina would ask her _that_ question directly and her answer would be a resounding yes.

Ding.

There was panic in the way Nayeon grabbed her phone and almost dropped it on her face while opening the message she received. It would be so crazy if Mina would text now but that’s not far from actually happening, right?

**Unknown Number**

Ya

Im Nayeon

I heard youre back

_So much for wishful thinking._ Nayeon puffs some air out.

**Nayeon**

Who’s this?

**Unknown Number**

Jennie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did anyone think that ch.19 was the last chapter?
> 
> I was supposed to post this on 07.28 at 23.45 KST (cause I literally just finished it before we started dropping our heart on cheoaedol, so this is unbeta-ed) but I fell asleep, sorry.  
> Still, here it is! 
> 
> It's still the 28th on the other side of the world so it's still MINAYEON DAY :) Lols.
> 
> So, a break up, a comeback and a Jennie. Hmmmm
> 
> PS. I did a simple edit of the teaser, hihi.  
> It's on twitter if you wanna see it @Lila11Lila_


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kim Jennie, please introduce yourself
> 
> Unbeta-ed so I apologize for the errors

**_DISPATCH:_ **

_#TWICE is set to release their brand new mini-album, YES or YES, making this the group’s third comeback_

_It’s a valentine’s gift to their fans which means that although the title track has the group’s signature upbeat tempo, we can also expect powerful ballads._

_And now, we wait for the track list and highlight medley._

_#YESorYES pre-order link below._

**_COMMENTS:_ **

_Chaeyu in Hongdae today._

_OP was able to take a selca with them_

_Another lucky once_

_PEACHES it’s a japanese american fusion café_

_Other idols were also seen going there frequently_

_To those who plan on going there just to see their idols, please don’t bother them_

_Let them have their coffee and snacks in peace_

*****

Noryangjin is the biggest fish market in Seoul and the best place to visit to satisfy one’s cravings for fresh, straight-out-of-the-water seafood feast. There are rows of seafood vendors who have tanks full of different kinds of fish, octopus, prawns and other shell fish.

“Jennie-ya! Put this in your basket.” The fish vendor shouted while dangling a big plastic bag.

“Auntie, I’ve more than enough already. You keep giving me all these fishes, you’re not going to have anything to sell when I leave.”

“Aigoo!” Snatching Jennie’s shopping basket and putting the bag of prawns inside. “You’re only here for a couple of days. I’m sure you missed Korean seafood dishes.”

“Just take it.” Nayeon whispered to an annoyed Jennie before smiling back to the older lady. “We’ll see you later, auntie.”

“Come back soon, Nayeon-ah.” An older man appears behind the fish vendor and smiles at Nayeon sweetly. “And remind my favorite daughter that dinner on Friday night, alright?”

“Will do, uncle.”

Nayeon bows to the store owners and runs to follow Jennie who had already left before another bag of seafood is shoved inside her basket.

Kim Jennie.

Nayeon met Jennie, or Doc Jen, on her first trip to Seoul when she was only sixteen. She and Dahyun found a stray dog, bleeding behind the Minatozaki restaurant one summer afternoon and brought it to Jennie who was a medical student at the time.

Jennie helped Nayeon nurse the dog back to health and that was the beginning of their friendship. 

Jennie’s that kind of friend that you don’t get to speak with very often and rarely see in person, but the connection was so strong that the moment you get together it’s as if the time spent apart didn’t happen. She was also the sister that Nayeon almost had, but never did.

The older Korean was already starting the engine when Nayeon hops on the car.

“I can’t believe you're still good at left-hand drive after being all over Europe for years.”

“Well, when you’re as smart as I am, you can do anything.” Jennie shrugged.

“Haha.” Nayeon laughs dryly, looking around the inside of the luxury car.

Jennie didn’t lie though. This girl carries a high level of intelligence and sophistication that everyone’s first impression is to be intimidated by her. Most people are scared of Jennie especially when she starts giving ~~everyone~~ anyone her signature side eye. Only a handful of people knows just how much of a softie she really is and Nayeon’s one of them.

“How much did you pay for this rental?”

“Not enough to keep other people off the road apparently.” Jennie looks at her. “You good?” 

“Yeah.” Nayeon answered after securing her seat belt.

“So, I heard you have a girlfriend. Like a real girlfriend girlfriend. Finally got tired of sleeping around, huh?”

“Yeah, well I had one.” Sighs.

“Had? Really? Cause I’m pretty sure I heard have when I was told this news.”

“She broke up with me.”

“Wow.” The older Korean side eyed her passenger. “You Ims sure love being dumped, huh?”

“Shut up.” Nayeon rolls her eyes.

“Speaking of which, I also heard your brother’s back together with Kelly.” Jennie stops at the red light. “First love never really dies. I’m happy for him.”

Nayeon’s amused. “Where are you hearing these from?”

“From the flakiest snowflakes of them all.” Jennie laughed at her own joke.

“I’m going to tell you called her that.”

“By all means.” Jennie challenged. “One thing she didn’t tell me though, is the name of your girl – I mean ex-girlfriend. I hope it’s not Momo cause I might just kill you right now.”

“No, it’s not Momo.”

“Good.” Jennie puts the car back into drive. “I remember how much of a trouble she was for your fragile teenage heart.”

Nayeon makes a face, forgetting how much Jennie hated those days when the older Japanese would play with her feelings.

“Anyway, what’s with this thing tomorrow? Are there like other vets coming?”

“Yes. I finally got the org to do it after a year of relentlessly bringing the subject up everytime I meet the board members.” Jennie beams with pride. “We’ll also offer free consultations for limited numbers of animals that are not in the shelter. So if you know any furparents who wants their babies looked at, just tell them to pre-register.” 

“Okay.”

“And we need volunteers too. I hope you’re not doing anything tomorrow.”

***

**_@TWICE_Official_ **

_Another teaser came out today, Once. We can’t wait for you to see what we’ve prepared_ 🐧

Mina had been staring at her phone for thirty minutes now. She’s excited and nervous and confused – debating whether or not to send a personal text or reply to the comment under her post online.

Did she change numbers? Or did she delete mine?

Whatever the reason was behind Nayeon posting a very short online comment instead of sending a text is not important at this moment. Mina knows she needs to do something about it. React to it. Like it. Screenshot it. Something.

**_@IMNY_ **🙂 ****

**_@TWICE_Official_** 😊

So, she replied.

***

Jennie had been with Veterinarians Without Border for about three years now and it took her a year to finally bring the organization back to South Korea. She had secured a contract for a local animal shelter (the one she used to volunteer at when she was still a medical student) to get assistance from VWB for one year, both financial and medical. Jennie also organized a medical mission to celebrate the new partnership.

Nayeon always admired Jennie’s passion for saving every single life that comes in to her clinic. Whether it’s a large farm cow or the tiniest toy poodle, Jennie’s love for animals knows no boundaries.

The Trio arrived – Nayeon was able to recruit Sana and Dahyun to volunteer too – and they were immediately given their tasks for the day. Nayeon was assigned of cleaning and moving the furniture in the shelter’s common area where they usually receive candidates for adoption, while her bestfriends were assigned at the registration booth.

The shelter just needed a little sprucing up and Nayeon is just the right person for the job. One hour gone and Nayeon, in full cleaning gear, was already carrying a bag of garbage out when she spotted Momo standing in the registration booth with Boo.

Momo must’ve felt her looking because the café owner turns to her direction and uses Boo’s little paws to wave at her.

“Hey.” Nayeon approached them after removing her gloves. “You don’t have to actually stand in line even if you didn’t pre-register.”

“No, Boo and I are not going to use our connections to get ahead of like,” Momo tiptoed to check how many people are ahead of them. “…five other dogs.”

“Okay.” Nayeon chuckles. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“I figured since the world renowned Dr. Kim Jennie is in town might as well grab the opportunity to have her check my Boo. And maybe see if she still hates me.”

“She does.”

“Oh well,” Momo shrugged and held Boo closer to her face. “Then you have to act really cute, Mister. Doc Jen can’t resist a fluffy little brown pup.”

Nayeon reaches out to pet Boo while the line moves.

“You know who else are here today?” Momo asked.

“Ah, Dahyun. Sana. Some people we know from college.” Nayeon answers, still petting the energetic terrier.

“And them too.” Momo nods behind Nayeon.

The Korean girl follows Momo’s line of vision and sees five girls standing in a circle near the parking area, talking to the event organizers.

 _No way._

It was Chaeyoung who saw Nayeon first and gave her an excited yet small wave – not to attract attention – then nudges the blonde girl beside her. 

Nayeon watched as Mina turns around and she swears time slowed down. It's like one of those scenes in the movies where everything's in slow motion as the lead character turns to look back at the love of her life while the wind blows cherry blossom petals in the background. 

Ten weeks since they last saw each other in person.

Sixty-eight days since Mina walked out of Nayeon’s apartment.

And yet it feels like it was only yesterday when those lips were on Nayeon’s cheeks.

_What is she doing here? Did Dahyun know about this? Oh shit, she’s seen me with Momo. No, she knows nothing’s going on. What do I do now? Should I go talk to her –_

“Nayeon-ssi?”

Nayeon snaps out of her thoughts. She blinks a few times before unconsciously answering. “Yes?” 

She can see Mina’s still looking at her, but then her view was blocked by a younger boy.

“Nayeon-ssi? Where do you want to move the bigger cages?”

“The what?”

“The bigger cages. We finished cleaning them up and we’re ready to bring them back inside.”

Right. Nayeon shakes her head and takes in a deep breath, bringing her focus back to the task on hand. She smiles at the boy. “Let’s go.”

Looking back to where the KPop group was still standing, Nayeon made sure that Mina's eyes were still on her before she gives a smile and a small nod.

_It’s so nice to see you again._

***

There were three tents set up near the shelter while its interior was being cleaned and rearranged. One for the dogs, one for the cats and the third one is where the volunteers can rest while enjoying a snack from the food truck Peaches sent.

Since Chaeyoung and Tzuyu are regular customers at Peaches, Momo had allowed both of them to play with Boo while she discusses the best vitamin brands for her furbaby with Doc Jen.

Jihyo is in the cat tent with their managers while Jeongyeon is helping Mina prepare bowls of dog pellets when she noticed the Japanese ballerina smiling at something. It didn’t really surprise her when she looks out and sees Nayeon standing a few feet away from their tent, chatting with Sana. 

Mina was watching Nayeon so intently that when the Korean girl turned, saw her looking and then flashed her a toothy grin, Mina felt goosebumps ran up her body. She’s still so cute. 

“Did you just turn into a cactus?” Jeongyeon teased.

“Eh?”

“Goosebumps. I could literally grate cheese on your skin.” Jeongyeon laughed as she rubs her arms on Mina’s. “Are you going to just check her out or are you actually going to talk to her?”

“I’m okay with just looking.” Mina smiled dreamily. “She smiled at me.”

“Ugh, who are you and what did you with sulky Mina?”

Mina laughs at her unnie’s silliness. “Besides, Dispatch’s here.” She nods to the group of photographers running around the place, taking pictures of the other volunteers.

“I can’t wait for the day we wouldn’t have to worry about them.”

"Me too."

And that’s how Mina and Nayeon interacted for the next hour – stealing glances here and there since no one would dare take the next step which was to actually approach the other.

***

It's 2:30 PM and Dahyun's politely pushing people out of her way to get to Nayeon who's already finishing things up inside shelter.

“Nabong!”

Nayeon didn’t even get the chance to respond when Dahyun yanked her off her seat and pulled her out of the building. They were on the way to the tent when she realized why her bestfriend had dragged her out. 

Photographers were gathered around a safe distance from the black van while the KPop group was thanking the event organizers and bowing to everyone else that’s seeing them off. Their time for volunteer work is very limited since they still need to go back to the company for a few more hours of rehearsals. 

Dahyun looks at Nayeon, expecting for her to do something. A few moments had passed but Nayeon was just remained standing there, watching. So she moved behind Nayeon and gently pushed her forward before shouting.

“MINA!”

The Japanese idol immediately shots her head up, searching for the person who called her name – the voice sounded familiar.

Nayeon can see Mina looking around. She hesitated for a bit before raising her hand to wave earning her a sweet, gummy smile from the idol. Be still my heart, she just smiled, come on now.

 ~~She’s still whipped AF~~.

***

**_TWICE:_ **

_TRACKLIST_

_YES OR YES_

_THE 3RD MINI ALBUM_

_02.10 6PM_

**_DISPATCH:_ **

_#TWICE just dropped the track list for their 3rd Mini Album, YES or YES and ONCEs are presented with yet another surprise!_

_Members Mina and Chaeyoung were credited for writing the lyrics for 2 of the 8 songs_

_Which song are you most excited for?_

“My back hurts so much.” Dahyun groans as she slowly walks out of her bedroom, joining Nayeon on the couch. “I think I dislocated my shoulders.”

“See, this is why your cousin calls you a snowflake.”

“Ah, she can call me whatever she wants as long as she’s not going to make me carry any more dog food for the next ten years.”

Nayeon moves her legs off the couch, giving room for Dahyun to sit next to her. “Maybe it’s time for us to join a yoga class or something.”

They look at each other before they burst out laughing.

“You’d have – _hahaha_ – you’d have trouble breathing.” Dahyun holds her tummy, it hurts to laugh. “Are you kidding me?”

Really, who is Nayeon kidding? They’re the least sporty kids of their generation and, in Jennie’s words, the flakiest snowflakes of them all.

“So, what’s up with Sana?” Nayeon asked once the laughter died down. “She’s supposed to come here tonight, right?”

Dahyun turns the TV on, wiping the tears from laughing too much. “I don’t know.” She clears her throat. “Joy won’t stop blowing up her phone.”

“Oooh, looks who’s crawling back to who now.” Nayeon giggles. “Sana must be really good.”

Dahyun scoffs. “You’d know.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I mean, you would know cause you and her...” Dahyun winced as she leans back on the couch. “You two slept together, right?” And she really doesn’t like talking about this topic

Nayeon squints at the way Dahyun was pouting while channel surfing. “Nothing happened between Sana and me.”

The younger Korean slowly turns her head to look at Nayeon. “You mean you never –”

“We never had sex. I mean there was some kissing but you know how much of a lightweight she is. She passed out.” Nayeon thinks. “Or maybe I did.”

“You never had sex?!” Dahyun said bit louder. “And all this time you let me believe you did.”

“I honestly thought she would’ve told you already. And it was fun teasing you.”

Dahyun drops the remote control on the coffee table and lets out a growl.

Nayeon just watched her bestfriend as the weight of the truth sinks in before reaching out to poke her cheek.

“That’s what’s holding you back, huh?”

Dahyun swats her hand away, upset at the fact that she had to endure the idea of her bestfriends being together and having to suppress her own feelings for a long time.

“I know you’ve been in love with her since we were in high school, Dahyunie. And I’m so sorry for that one drunken night. But, I think you already know that she has feelings for you too. So, now that you know what are you going to do?”

“I might kill you first.”

“Get a number. You have to wait for you turn.” 

They fall into a comfortable silence for a moment.

“You know they released the track list.”

“And?”

“I think she wrote that song for you.”

“No, don’t do that.” Nayeon shakes her head. “Don’t give me false hope.”

“Isn’t there a part of you that wishes she wrote it for you?”

“Every part of me wishes she did but, what if she didn’t? I mean, that’s part of her job, right? So I don’t want to think much of it. And don’t turn this conversation around, Kim Dahyun.”

“Right. Guess I should call Sana, huh?” Dahyun pats her pockets for her phone. Right, she left it in her room. "Let me use your phone. It’s going to take me forever to drag my flaky muscles to my room.”

“Tell her to bring some ramen too.” Nayeon suggested, handing the phone to Dahyun. “It’ll keep me busy while you two get _busy_.”

***

**_COMMENTS:_ **

_OT5 volunteered today at an animal shelter_

_It was o_ _rganised by VWB_

_Minari must really be missing ray look at the way she was holding the pup_

_I stan the right group_

_and if chaeyu decides to adopt a pup what are we gonna do_

_Hey guy, remember that Chaeyu pic at the café in Hongdae?_

_I just realised it’s the same café GodJihyo frequents re: photos posted last year/a couple of weeks ago_

_And the owner of the café also volunteered today_

_The food truck has the café logo_

_Maybe they’re friends with the owner now_

_Women supporting women_

***

Jennie’s reason for being in Seoul is to just make sure that the process of VWB handing its sponsorship to the animal shelter runs smoothly which means it’s time for her to head back to London. She had asked Nayeon to help pack her things a little faster but that proves to be impossible since the girl was glued to her phone since she arrived at the hotel room. 

“You were really in love, weren’t you?” Jennie said after sneaking a peek on what Nayeon was checking on her phone, which turns out to be the KPop group’s online account. “Mina’s pretty and seeing how she handled the newborn puppies yesterday, I can tell she’s kindhearted too.”

Nayeon locks her phone and looks at the older girl suspiciously. “I thought you said Dahyun didn’t tell you her name.”

“She didn’t but your brother did when I spoke with him this morning.” Jennie rolled her eyes when she heard Nayeon feigning a gasp. “What? Are you really that surprised that we still talk?”

“I just... your break up was like, the messiest break up in the history of all break ups. Dahyun and I had to literally stay away from both of you cause we didn’t want to get involved.”

“Just because Yong and I didn’t work out together doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. He got his happily ever after and I got mine. All is good.”

“You know I still preferred you as my future sister-in-law.”

“Shut up bitch, I know you love Kelly.” Jennie laughed as she tucks her rolled shirts in her luggage.

“So, my brother told you everything huh?”

“Yes. He knows how you’re like my baby sister too.” Jennie sits up straight. “So, I’m going to give you an unsolicited advise. You ready?”

“Even if I say no that’s not going to stop you.” Nayeon said under her breath but loud enough for Jennie to hear.

“You’re at this point in your life where you already know what you want and what makes you happy. But your heart and mind have two different opinions about it that’s why sometimes, you second guess yourself.”

Nayeon shrugs.

“I’ve been in your shoes so I say follow your heart.” Jennie continued. “I mean, look at me, if I hadn’t followed mine I could’ve been bored out of my brains working a nine to five job that I don’t even understand.” She reaches over to squeeze the younger girl's hand. “It’s not too late nor too early for your own happily ever after, Nayeonnie. Just follow your heart.”

***

**_@TWICE_Official_ **

_Track list is out. Who’s excited?_ 🐧

_**@IMNY**_ 🤚

 _**@TWICE_Official**_ 👍

This is so ridiculous. She has Mina’s number and she can just text her anytime, heck she can even call her if she wants to. But this online emoji conversation at 1 AM for all of the group’s thirteen million followers to witness has its own kind of excitement.

Nayeon thinks doing it in public is safer – she'd have to be very careful with what she writes – than messaging Mina privately because she might actually say things to try and win her back. Would that be so bad, though? 

_Yes, it could creep her out and drive her away. But why is she even replying to me publicly? Does that mean she’s okay with this too? What if she deleted my number already?_

That thought sucked all the excitement out of her body.

She’s overthinking again. Shutting her mind off and following her heart is going to be hard since she’s used to having time for processing her thoughts before acting on them. 

She jumps out of the bed, throws her limbs around to physically shake the icky feeling off and decides to finally unpack her luggage from her recent LA trip. Why it always takes her forever to unpack her things after coming back to Seoul is still a mystery.

The only thing that she was able to take out was the miniature clock which is now sitting on her bedside table, beside the other wooden one from Jeju.

_So many clocks, not enough time._

She opens the top drawer of her dresser after grabbing a few shirts from the luggage but it didn’t have enough space. She’s about to kneel on the floor to open the lowest level when something caught her eye.

_Oh fuck me, there you are._

***

**_TWICE:_ **

_HIGHLIGHT MEDLEY_

_YES OR YES_

_THE 3RD MINI ALBUM_

_02.10 6PM_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congrats to our girls for winning soribada.  
> I know you all worked hard for it too. Did any of you cry? Cause I did. >_<  
> This chapter was a little late. 
> 
> So, thoughts about Jennie? Did you think she's Nayeon's ex?  
> Saida? Did you figure out that the fish vendors were Dubu's parents?  
> Comeback? Istg this Minayeon storm is coming to an end and Im excited.  
> REALLY REALLY EXCITED!


	22. A/N

**A/N:** **Hello,**

I made a video of the highlight medley and posted it on my stan twt: @Lila11Lila_ under the CINDERELLA thread.

It's some of my fave b-sides - songs that I won't ever get tired of listening to.

I wanted to put everything but it's a valentines album so...

Anyway, it's going to be pretty obvious which song was written by Chaeyoung.

Question is, which song did Mina write for Nayeon?

💚🐧🐰💙


	23. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE REAL CHAPTER 22  
> Clear blue skies.  
> No more storms coming this way.  
> Unbeta-ed.

**_@TWICE_Official_ **

_Had a great day spent with these beautiful souls_ 🐧

It’s a photo of Mina holding newborn puppies in her arms and Nayeon’s debating whether to post a comment or not. It’s been a week since the volunteer work at the shelter and their online _talks_ just got more consistent.

_**@IMNY** Thank you for your time –_

Nah, that sounds too formal.

**_@IMNY_** _I love you –_

Nope, too personal.

**_@IMNY_** 😊

Nayeon didn’t really think there’d be a reply almost a soon as her comment was posted. She feels a wave of emotions crashing on her when she realized what Mina’s reply meant. _It’s just an emoji. Don’t get so worked up about it._

But of course, Mina is a smart sushi and Nayeon knows this is her trying to hit on all the right spots. _Two can play that game, Minari._

**_@TWICE_Official_** ⭐ 

**_@IMNY_** 🦈

She knows it’s never been a good idea to check her phone when she’s in the middle of rendering images. But she can’t help it when the notification was for Mina’s post on her group’s social media.

Based on her own experience, and on Dahyun’s stories, Mina rarely goes on their official account.

The Japanese ballerina definitely cares for their fans and she appreciates everything they do for her and her members but she only ever posts anything online when there are special events like birthdays, promotion weeks and holidays.

So it goes without saying that this _daily_ Mina update even before the comeback promotions start is noticed by many ONCE Detectives.

**_COMMENTS:_ **

_Minari’s really active online these days huh_

_Mina + puppies = not good for my heart_

_Who do I have to sacrifice to have Jeong reply to me too?_

_@/imny account is in public but it’s like a designer’s account_

_Maybe she did the interior design for the dorm remember when JH said they’re going to have their dorm redesigned_

_To the user Mina replies to: do you have a stan account?_

_Please show yourself_

_We just wanna talk_

***

Mina enters the café in her full ninja assassin ensemble that it attracted more attention than actually hiding her in the crowd. Thank goodness for the mask covering more than half her face, people didn’t really recognize who she was.

They normally have their managers call the café to get their orders ready and have it delivered to where their scheduled filming is at for the day. So walking up to the counter was nerve racking especially when the owner herself is the one preparing her drink.

“You’re a little late.” Momo smiled, handing Mina her iced coffee.

“Yeah.” Mina breathes out, forcing a confident smile.

 _Peaches’_ afternoon rush hour normally starts at 1 PM so Mina had a little more than an hour before people starts flooding in. Maybe she should’ve thought about this before jumping into the first opportunity that came her way.

“Usual corner.” Momo confirmed after seeing the question written all over the idol’s face, and nodded towards the direction of the said _corner._

Mina gives her a polite bow and walks towards the corner booth. _God, I hope this works._

The corner booth is really just a few meters away from the counter but it feels like she’s been walking for forever. _Why did I even wear this thick hoodie?_ It’s still a bit chilly in Seoul but she can feel sweat trickling down the side of her neck and her heart begins to race.

A few more steps and the person in the booth finally looked away from their laptop and met Mina’s gaze with a surprised look.

“Oh.” Nayeon choked out.

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

 _Holy mother of shit._ Mina the-love-of-her-life Myoi is standing right in front of her in the middle of a sunny day at this very public café.

Nayeon can’t believe her eyes. This shouldn’t be happening. Not that she didn’t wish to see Mina – she’s been daydreaming a moment like this for months now – but she knows that the girls have a filming scheduled today for a TV variety show based on what Jihyo told everyone last night when she turned on Vlive.

 _I miss you._ “This is a bit out of you way.”

“Not when I want to see you.”

“Oh.” Nayeon choked out again. She didn't expect that kind of response from Mina.

Maybe that came out a lot more forward than she intended but behind her black mask, Mina’s grinning, proud of herself for making Nayeon blush. It’s always been the other way around with them and this is the push Mina needed to continue with her plan.

“Um,” Mina clears her throat. “Our comeback showcase is in a few days.” 

She slowly pushes a brown envelope on the table towards the Korean who's still shocked. 

“There are also passes there for Dahyun and Sana.” Mina added while Nayeon checks the content of the envelope which turns out to be AAA passes for the comeback.

“Thanks, I’ll let them know.” Nayeon pushes the passes back into the envelope and looks at Mina. God, she missed looking at those enchanting eyes in real life. She’s been looking up at Mina’s face for quite a while now when she realized that she didn’t even offer her a seat.

Mina sensed it because she stopped her from standing up.

“No, it’s okay.” Mina chuckles, gesturing for the girl to remain seated. She would like to stay longer and just be in Nayeon’s presence but she has somewhere else to be. And she knows this surprise is something that Nayeon would need time to fully take in. “I have to go anyway.”

“Okay.” Nayeon slowly sits back down, not breaking eye contact.

 _I really want you there._ It’s on the tip of her tongue but she didn’t want Nayeon to feel pressured so she just smiles, bows and takes her leave.

Nayeon just watched Mina gets into her service through the café glass windows still wondering if that really happened. 

_Wow._

***

**_COMMENTS:_ **

_#YESorYES IN 8HRS WHOS EXCITED_

_Hashtags start at 5:50 KST_

_Our goals for the first 24hrs click on the link_

_Guys I think I know who user @/imny is hear me out:_

_I checked her profile, no personal photos, no tagged photos,_

_The account also follows a lot of like other design companies and restaurants and hotels but not twice_

_That’s a little weird imo_

_So going back to peaches account I came across a post form its opening day_

_user imny designed the café and there she is ladies and gentleman_

_user imny is the girl beside the café owner_

_OMG she looks familiar_

_Fuck she’s the same girl MN was with in japan_

_Where’s that airport vid from masternim I can’t find it aaaaaaaaahhh_

_This is her at the volunteer_

_Is it bad that Im shipping her with Mina. Jeongmi don’t look._

_Some of you are really more focused on finding MN’s FRIEND than the actual comeback. Priorities!_

***

7 PM. Music video is out, comeback hashtags are trending number one worldwide, and the highest recorded pre-order sales for a girl group. It’s still too early to brag about it, but this comeback is already considered their most successful one to date.

Five girls are gathered in a circle at the backstage of KBS Arena Hall, preparing for their _actual_ showcase in front of one thousand fans. It’s like a concert but it’s more intimate and the girls can relax a little now that the formal press showcase is done.

“The hard part of today’s schedule is over.” Jihyo tries her best to hold her bestfriends’ hands and looks them in the eye. “The next hour is for us. Let's give them a great show tonight."

"How many ONCEs are here tonight, unnie?" Tzuyu still gets stage fright which is normal for any performer.

"A lot." Jeongyeon teased.

Chaeyoung shushes Jeongyeon and throws her a disapproving look while leaning her body to the younger Taiwanese.

"Hey, it's okay." Jihyo finds Tzuyu's hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze. "Think of those people out there like friends we haven’t seen in a long time.”

“Online friends.” Jeongyeon said under her breath, not missing another chance to interject a joke and playfully nudged Mina.

Of course they knew about Mina’s impromptu trip to _Peaches_ to hand deliver the invitation to a certain Korean. All of them actually hope that Nayeon would come so they can all tease Mina about it during their promotion week.

“Let’s just have fun, okay?” Jihyo hypes the group. “Yes?”

“YES!” Everyone answers. Even the managers join in.

“1, 2! Let’s go!”

The entire hall went silent. Music stops, lights went out and everyone know what’s going to happen next. Exactly ten seconds after, Mina’s elegant, clear voice blasts through the speakers and light sticks start lighting up, in sync with the song.

The cheers of adoration and support from their ONCE were definitely worth all those long nights of rehearsals, bruises from accidentally hitting each other in dance practices and even those private breakdowns at the piano room that they each think other members don’t know about – it all comes down to this moment. 

And to Mina, it comes down to that one person she wishes to see tonight.

With several spotlights hitting her face, Mina’s practically blind on stage – well, they all are – and she can’t wait to finish the opening songs so she can see Nayeon.

Jihyo hits the final note and the lights go out followed by deafening screams.

_Here we go._

“One in a million! Hello, we are Twice!”

The crowd cheers even louder and the girl group waves and smiles to everyone that came.

_She should be somewhere on the left side. Hmm, my left or –_

The passes Mina gave Nayeon were supposed to be seats in the front row that are usually reserved for family members, company bosses, producers, other idols – basically VIPs that would want to watch their showcase stage live.

_Oh, there’s Sana._

_Dahyun._

Mina furrows her brows. She can see Sana giving her an almost embarrassed smile and Dahyun’s is an apologetic one because the seat next to hers is empty.

_She didn’t come._

***

The night is still young but she already feels so exhausted. She spent the better part of her day ignoring all the heart shaped decorations on the streets while weighing in the pros and cons of attending the showcase.

A lot of the pros revolve around Mina and the possibility of her singing the _song_ live during the showcase. Singing the song that’s supposedly written for her. Singing the song _to_ her.

She still doesn’t want to assume anything but the more she listens to it, the more she believes that the song was a direct message from Mina to her. Sitting by the Han River with her music player's volume on full blast is the most romantic and heart breaking way of listening to Twice’s new album.

And the cons? People seeing her at the showcase. It’s bad enough that fans are talking about her online and it may get worse if someone recognizes her at the venue.

She sinks back on the bench, looks up at the starry sky and lets out a heavy sigh.

_I could really use some direction now, Ma._

***

“Why didn’t you go to the showcase?” Dahyun drops her backpack on the dining table, the morning after the showcase. She should've insisted on picking up Nayeon from uni yesterday. “Mina was pretty disappointed. I mean, who wouldn’t be? She was expecting you and you just blew her off like that.”

“There were people looking for me.” Nayeon said quietly.

“And? They didn’t find you, did they?” Dahyun grabs her KCON 2018 mug from the cupboard to pour herself some coffee. “You lowkey flirt with her online and when she made a move you chickened out.”

“I didn’t really think that our online conversations would have their fans are talking about it. And I just didn’t want to jeopardize their showcase by going there and have some people recognize me. That could start another rumor, you know.”

“Okay, I know that you’ve already gone through a hundred possible scenarios in your head but let me ask you this,” The younger Korean takes a seat in front of Nayeon. “Have you thought about her reasons at all? Like, why she was replying to your comments. She even called Momo to find you. And that song? You know she wrote that for you.”

_Ugh, god._

Dahyun can see the wheels turning inside Nayeon’s head. She had always supported her bestfriend through everything that’s happened but that doesn’t mean that she approves of all the decisions Nayeon’s ever made.

The younger Korean grew up in a family where they believe experience is the best teacher and that was partly the reason why she didn’t really intervene when Nayeon decided to hide the manager thing from Mina – which was the beginning of her favorite ship’s downfall. 

_This girl needs to stop overthinking._ She wanted Nayeon to learn from her mistakes but now that she’s on the verge of making another one, Dahyun realizes she needs to step in. _She just needs a little more push._

“Look, I know you always have Mina’s best interest in mind but you’re also being a bit selfish by holding yourself back from giving her what she wants. And you know what she wants.” She reached out to for Nayeon’s hand. “You said you still love her and want to get back together, right?”

“You know I do.”

“Then, prove it to her. Do something. Make a move, Mina already made hers. Prince charming didn’t wait for Cinderella to come knocking on the palace doors with the other glass shoe. He went looking for her.” Dahyun gestures. “You know where I’m going with this analogy, right?”

“Right.”

Nayeon wants to fling herself off her seat. Dahyun’s absolutely right. She haven't even tried to see things through Mina's perspectives. She had been obsessing over all the online comments she’s been reading and how it might affect Mina that her mind automatically blocked out the other _more important_ thing her brother, Jennie and her bestfriends had been telling her to do all this time.

Follow her heart – her heart that’s already stuck on Mina.

***

**_DISPATCH:_ **

_#TWICE comeback with their 3rd mini album #YESorYES is off with to great start_

_Ranked no.1 on all streaming platform and the highest pre-sale recorded for 3rd gen GGs_

_ONCE prepare your candybongs for comeback stages!_

**_COMMENTS:_ **

_WOW. This comeback is full of surprises_

_PAK! PAK! PAK!_

_Did anyone else think Strawberry would be that um mature?_

_This could very well be a ballad album_

_LAF enthusiasts where are you?_

_Stuck was so beautiful. Mina did such a great job with the lyrics._

_Jihyo’s chorus in 3x a day please_

_This comeback is ashjdhadfjkdakjflfdklf_

***

**_@TWICE_Official_ **

_ONCE! MuBank comeback stage later! See you there_ 🐧

Dahyun had been refreshing the page on her phone for almost five minute now, waiting to see if user _@IMNY_ will comment on Mina’s latest post that she didn’t notice Nayeon running to join her at their usual hangout at the campus grounds.

“Will you... will you break traffic laws if, whoo, “ Nayeon asks while still trying to catch her breath. “If I told you it’s a matter of life and death?”

“You know you don't have to ask me that.” Dahyun said with a mischievous smirk while hiding her phone. “But seriously, we can’t go over 120.” The smirk lasted for a good three seconds. 

“Fine. Let’s go.” Nayeon huffed as she pulls Dahyun up to her feet.

“Where are we going?”

“Here.” Nayeon shows Dahyun a map to _Star Auditorium_ on her phone's navigation app. 

“Okaaaay." Dahyun drags, frowning at her bestfriend. "Uh, do you have a ticket?”

“What ticket?”

“You’re going to need a ticket to get in there.” Dahyun’s quite proud to know that Nayeon decided to finally follow her heart but clearly the older Korean didn’t plan this out thoroughly.

“I’ll figure something out when we get there. But we have to drop by the apartment first.”

***

It’s only 2 PM and Sana’s already back from college that even her mother thinks it’s strange to see her daughter at the restaurant this early.

“Why do you have so many books here?” Mrs. Minatozaki enters the restaurant office where she can see several books piled up on the office desk.

“Those are not books, Mom.” Sana informed her mother without taking her attention off the laptop screen.

“These are not books? Then what are these?” Mrs. Minatozaki picks up one of the items, opens it and sees a CD inside. “Oh, this is Mina-chan’s group.” The restaurant owner browses through the pages of the photobook. “I would’ve given her the best sauce for those rice cakes I keep making her take home if you brats had told me sooner.”

“Mom, Mina loved the desserts. Don’t worry about it.”

“I like that girl. She’s really nice.”

“Yeah,” Sana absentmindedly answered.

She meant to do this sooner but academics took all her morning schedule but as soon as she remembered, she knew she had to ~~reluctantly~~ skip her afternoon classes. _Sacrifices had to be made._

“Is our wi-fi working?”

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“I can’t get into this website.” Sana stomps her feet in frustration. “Ah! Fuck this.”

“Sattang!” Mrs. Minatozaki scolded her daughter.

“Sorry.”

“You’re the only one using that wi-fi. We have a different one for the customers.”

“The website’s lagging. There are probably too many people checking too. Ugh, come on, come on.” Sana decided to clear all the temp files on the browser and relaunched it. “Oh, okay, here we go.”

Mrs. Minatozaki walks to closer to the desk to see what her daughter was looking at.

Sana scrolls through the website page with a finger crossed for luck. _Okay, 5:30 PM... Star Auditorium... Oh my..._

“Fuck yes!”

“Minatozaki Sana!” Her mother bangs the album she’s holding on the table as a warning to her daughter’s foul language.

“Sorry, Mom.” Sana jumps on her seat, grabs the album her mother was holding and kisses her on the cheek before running out of the office.

***

“Pick up. Pick up. Pick up. Pick up. Pick up.” With her phone in her ear, Sana runs down the stairs from the bedroom loft, looking for Nayeon. “Where the fuck is this girl?”

She was going to redial the number for the fourth time when the door opens and Nayeon bursts sprinting past Sana to go up to her room. She had never seen Nayeon moved that fast.

“Where the fuck have you two been?!” Sana asked once she spotted Dahyun waiting by the open door. “I’ve been calling and – you know what, don’t answer that, just come with me.”

“Babe, what’s going on?”

“Just come with me.” Sana holds on to Dahyun’s soft hand.

“Sana-chan, can we do this later?” Nayeon screams from upstairs.

“No, this can’t wait.” Sana screams from downstairs. “Come on!”

Finally, they hear heavy footsteps running down the stairs. “Sana, we have other plans and we really have to go.” Nayeon holds her Japanese bestfriend’s shoulders, looks at her seriously. “This is important.”

“More important than a fansign?” Sana raises an eyebrow, showing them a ticket.

***

Sana had always been the calmer driver between her and Dahyun but she went over 120 KM just to make sure they get to the venue on time. She bought 125 albums for a chance to win a fansign ticket for Nayeon. She didn’t even hesitate when she wrote down her bestfried's name on the raffle stub.

She and Dahyun have talked about it on their way home coming from the comeback showcase. They even thought about enlisting the help of Momo since the café owner is still in contact with Jihyo. But they didn’t want the KPop idol to have an idea of their _help Minayeon get back together plan_ because they didn’t want her to say anything to Mina. They didn't have time to discuss it any further because Sana's been busy with projects and Dahyun was kind of waiting for a miracle.

Dahyun thinks that what Sana did was really amazing. _She is the miracle._

Now, the trio makes their way to the Star Auditorium hallway with an album and the ticket secured in Nayeon’s hands. They were already half way there when Nayeon suddenly stops.

“Did you just call her babe?” It just registered in Nayeon’s head.

“Now is not the time for that.” Dahyun grabs her hand and pulls her back to running because the fansign is about to start. They need to make sure that Nayeon gets in before the doors close.

After the event organizers checked Nayeon’s ticket and her ID, she was given a number and the nod to go inside the auditorium. She looks back at her bestfriends who give her encouraging thumbs up.

“Aish, I forgot to give Nabong this camera.” Dahyun sadly looks at the camera in her hands. “I knew there’s a reason why I always bring this with me and I forgot to give it to her.”

“Love, she wouldn’t want to be a fansite anyway.”

“But I want to…” She looks at Sana who was eyeing with her a look that says _drop it_ and so Dahyun drops it. “So, we wait in the car, huh?”

“How about I buy you dinner?” Sana sweetly offers.

They were already walking away when they hear the auditorium doors open again and then someone calls out.

“Dahyun-ah? Sana?” It was Twice’s manager, the popular Sadness unnie. “Are you here for the fansign?”

“No, unnie, we just dropped Nayeon off.”

“Oh, she’s here? That should be interesting.” Sadness unnie smiles. “Want to come in? You have to sit at the back though and you can’t join the actual fansign.”

“That’s cool with me.” She looks at Sana with pleading eyes. “Babe?”

“Anything to support your fansite dreams, I guess.”

***

Now is Nayeon’s turn to get all sweaty. _Okay, calm down. They're not here for you, Nabong._ Thank goodness for her face mask – it makes her feel a less exposed. She was told she can keep it on but it’ll be much better to remove it when it’s her turn to meet the girls so they can see her face.

She examines the interiors of the auditorium. A long table was set up on stage with five chairs behind it, which she guesses were for the girls, and then there are five large boxes too. Before she can even think about what they’re for, the person sitting on her right taps on her shoulder.

“Hello.” A girl with blue hair gives her a small bow. “Is this your first fansign?”

“Hi, uh yes.”

“Oh, that’s great. I was worried I’m the only one who hasn’t done this before.” The younger girl sighed in relief. “I got them small plushies. Do you think they’ll like them?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Nayeon worries. “Wait, do you have to give gifts to every member?”

“Not really. I just want to give each of them something.”

Nayeon looks around and noticed that everyone else was holding several bags of different kinds of gifts obviously for all five members and here she is holding a bouq – no, you can’t even call it a bouquet because it only has four red roses –

Here she is, holding several stems of flowers she picked up on the way to venue that she intended of giving to Mina.

She definitely should’ve revisited _Dahyun’s Kpop for Dummies_. The last time she read that PDF file was after that memorable Osaka weekend.

“What’s your favorite b-side?” The young girl asked her, striking up another conversation.

“Stuck.” Nayeon didn’t even have to think about it.

“Oh, that’s a beautiful song. My favorite is Strawberry. I think Chaeyoung unnie is the coolest.”

Nayeon just smiled.

It’s clear that the younger fan was nervous and was about to say something else when the music suddenly plays on the speakers and then Twice walks on stage.

_Okay! I REALLY need to calm down._

***

The fansign event starts with the girls greeting all seventy-five ONCE and thanking them for the support and the love they’ve received for their recent comeback. The girls have changed into more comfortable clothes after their Music Bank performance but Mina’s comfortable clothes look like she’s ready to walk the runway.

The girls took their seats and the managers have started ushering fans to go on stage in groups of five. Nayeon looks at the number on her ticket. 

_73._ Sighs.

It’s going to take another hour before it’s her turn since everyone gets a minute to interact with each member.

Nayeon was quite taken aback when she noticed that more than half of the fans have their own cameras set up to record the entire event – some of them even have two. They’re all calling out for the girls’ attention to so they’d pose for a photo. Even the young girl beside her is busy adjusting the lenses of her own camera.

 _Fansites. That’s what they’re called._ Nayeon remembers the term while stretching her neck to release some tension when a fanboy screamed a question for Mina.

“Minaya! Where are your earrings?”

Mina was playing with a penguin plushie a fan had given her while waiting for the next person to move in front of her when she heard the question. She looks up smiling and immediately grabs the mic.

“Eh?”

“Are you keeping your earrings safe?” The fanboy asked again.

“Yes.” Mina giggles, proudly showing off her earrings. The very same earrings she almost lost in Switzerland. The very same pair Nayeon gave her. “I’m not going to lose them again.”

And that was enough to melt Nayeon in her seat.

***

"I bet you $5 Nabong's dying right now." Dahyun nudged Sana's shoulder as she adjusts her camera settings.

The back row is not really that far from the stage but thanks to her camera lenses, Dahyun was able to capture clear images of Nayeon's stunned face.

"I bet you $10 she'd die on stage, right in front of Mina." Sana challenged.

Dahyun holds her palm out and smirks. "Call."

"Call." Sana taps the younger Korean's hand to seal their deal before pulling her close to plant a kiss on her cheek.

***

Time moves fast and before she knows it, Nayeon’s being ushered into the side of the stage. As the seat in front of Jihyo becomes vacant, Nayeon feels a light tap on her elbow.

“You can go up now.” The staff gestures.

She breathes the tension out of her body before walking on stage straight to the chair in front of Jihyo. The group leader's interacting with some fans who were already seated back when Nayeon sits down. She pulls the mask down to her chin and Jihyo’s face breaks into an amused grin as soon as she recognized her.

“Hi.”

“Nayeon-ssi, Wow. I'm glad to see you here.” Jihyo smiles, taking the album off Nayeon's hands and opening it to the photobook part. “Surprised but glad.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. How are you?”

“Longer pink hair.” Jihyo leans in on the table to look at Mina, who was on the other of the table, checking if the Japanese member had seen Nayeon. “Looks like she hasn’t seen you yet.”

“Yeah, um, I didn’t bring gifts for all of you but uh, here.” Nayeon pulls a stem out and hands it to Jihyo.

“This is pretty. Thanks.” Jihyo smiled. “Hey, if you’re planning something romantic, I’m all for it.”

The group’s main vocalist gives a quick wink before the manager behind her gestures for Nayeon to move on to the next chair. Nayeon picks up the album and notices that Jihyo signed on Mina’s page – well, no she didn’t sign it, she wrote something else.

“Nayeon unnie.”

“Hi.” Nayeon bows while handing Chaeyoung the album.

“You’re here.” The young rapper leans back into her seat to discreetly look at Mina’s way.

“She hasn’t seen me yet.” Nayeon confirms.

“Wow. This is awesome” Chaeyoung laughs. “Are you okay? You look so nervous.”

“Is it that obvious?” 

“Just be cool, unnie.” Chaeyoung goes to doodle on the same page Jihyo wrote on. “You got this.”

“Okay. Thanks.” Nayeon offers a stem of rose and winks at her. “I think Strawberry is genius. I really like it.”

Chaeyoung giggles and slides the album to the girl next to her while Nayeon moves to the next seat.

Jeongyeon reads what the first two members had written on the page of the photobook before looking up to see Nayeon’s nervous smile.

“Nayeon-ah!” She said in a rather loud voice that made the other people on the stage look at her.

Including the Japanese girl at the end of the table.

Nayeon glanced to her right to see a calm look on Mina’s face. But her eyes, those enchanting eyes, were looking back at Nayeon with such disbelief.

“We were disappointed you didn’t come to the showcase.” Jeongyeon said, bringing Nayeon’s attention back to her. “But you’re here now so you better make up for it.”

“I will.” Nayeon said with conviction, holding up a rose. 

“Okay, then. I hope you’re ready for the Boss level.” Jeongyeon grabbed the flower and passed the album to Tzuyu who was already looking at Nayeon with a poker face. “You probably already saw how hard she worked on cheering Mina up when we were in Switzerland so, you know, good luck.”

The manager then motions for Nayeon to move to the seat in front of Tzuyu – not missing out the opportunity to glance at Mina who was also stealing glances at her –

“Hey, Tzu.”

“Hi, Unnie.”

Nayeon offers the last stem of rose that Tzuyu accepts.

The young Taiwanese scribbles on the same page everyone else before her wrote on and then hands the album back to Nayeon.

 _Why is she not saying anything? Maybe I should initiate the talk?_ “I – uh – I like this album.”

“That’s good. Thanks.” It was so polite that it made Nayeon more uncomfortable.

“Is something wrong?”

“I just want to make you a little uncomfortable.” Tzuyu shrugged before breaking into a playful grin. “Now, off you go to the final level.”

_This is it._

Nayeon stands up to take the last seat on the stage. Why can’t Mina be the first person she gets to talk to today? Why did the universe have to have her sit on the end of the table?

_Okay, just breathe._

The butterflies that were in her stomach have now evolved into bats. Why is she so scared anyway? This is Mina. The girl with the enchanting eyes. The girl she’s in love with. The girl she disappointed by being so hard headed – okay, yes, maybe she has reasons to be scared.

“Hi.” Mina softly acknowledged her.

“Hey.” Nayeon settles in her seat after handing Mina the album.

This is the first time they're this close to each other since November. So close that Nayeon can actually see a faint hint of that mole on Mina's forehead. And Mina noticed her looking so she goes to fix her bangs, allowing Nayeon a clearer view of her favorite mole.

 _Oh god, this is where I die._ Nayeon can see the Japanese girl's trying to hide a grin.

“Had I known you preferred a fansign than the showcase…” Mina didn’t finish her sentence because the notes written on the photobook distracted her.

On the Japanese member’s page:

Jihyo wrote _Mina’s LOML._

Chaeyoung’s doodles were _MN+NY_ with many little hearts and daisies.

Jeongyeon’s bold _spice it up!_

And Tzuyu’s squiggly _BOSS LEVEL PASSED._

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I was being stupid.”

Mina looks up and stares at her for a few seconds. “Don’t I get a rose too?”

“I will get you the biggest bouquet, but for now I hope these will do.” Nayeon pulls out two socks from her pocket – one green, one beige – and gently lays them on top of the photobook. “Found the way back to you.

_OH. MY. FUCKING. GOD._

Nayeon can see a blush spreading like wildfire on Mina’s face while the idol stares at the socks.

“Please move.” The manager behind Mina had to keep the line moving and there were only two other people after Nayeon.

So, the Korean stands up to walk off the stage when –

“Wait.” Mina reached out to hold Nayeon’s hand but ended up gesturing a high five.

They are still in a fansign with over a hundred people watching their every move – ONCE and event staff. And Nayeon understands so she decides to meet her hand in a cheeky high five instead, making both of them laugh.

Mina’s face is now a much deeper shade of red as she returns the album to Nayeon. She can hear her other members giggling and laughing out loud. _Oh, they’re never going to let this go._

Nayeon on the other hand, can feel her entire body shake with so many emotions after getting back on her seat and reading the note Mina wrote – _I’m stuck on you._

***

**_COMMENTS:_ **

_1st fansign for YOY comeback_

_Jeonghyo are like a married couple taking their kids to school or smn_

_Chaeyu fansites posted HDs_

_Mina looks like a fairy wth_

_Jihyo almost hit Jeong with her toy hammer_

_OP asked Chaeng what she wants to do on their 3rd anniversary and she said she wanted to get a tattoo_

_Tzuyu said her mom adopted a dog back in Taiwan so she can’t wait to meet the new member of their family_

_They told us they have a surprise and then sang stuck live_

_Acappella Stuck sounds so good omg_

_Mina's holding on to those socks like her life depended on it._

***

Mina carefully closes the back door, making sure it’s locked, relieved that Nayeon showed up after their text conversation. Nayeon messaged her after the fansign – _Oh thank god, Nayeon didn’t delete my number_ – but since the group has to report back to the company after their schedule, they agreed to meet at the dorms instead.

She motions for Nayeon to follow her upstairs. The other members are either already resting or getting ready for tomorrow’s promotions. Mina knows she should also be calling it a night but she just can’t let this moment pass.

She watched Nayeon tentatively paced around her bedroom as she gently closed the door behind her.

“You’re wearing them.” Nayeon points to Mina’s penguin socks, breaking the silence.

“Yeah, well it’s been a while since I had them.” Mina smiled as she goes to sit on her bed.

11:22 PM.

“I miss you. There were so many things I wanted to tell you. So many stories I wanted to share with you, like how I almost burned my tongue with that sour chip from Swiss.” The Japanese ballerina softly laughs at the memory. “It was so sour but like, so addicting. The scenes didn’t make the final cut for TV cause we were all laughing so hard.” 

“I would’ve loved to see it.” Nayeon smiles at her. She finds that so endearing. But then again, everything about Mina is endearing.

“Yeah. I... I really missed you.”

11:37 PM.

“Mina."

Nayeon paused, exhaled.

"Mina, I’m crazy in love with you and I’m so sorry for hurting you. I know I may still do questionable things cause I think too much. And I should really stop thinking too much and just follow my heart cause I selfishly want you in my life.“ She walks to where Mina is. “I don’t want to lose you again.”

“You never lost me.” Then Mina tugs on Nayeon’s cardigan, making her sit on her lap before burying her face on the Korean’s chest. “I love you.”

Nayeon wraps her arms tightly around Mina. "God, I love you, Mina." She whispered in between planting kisses on top of the Japanese's head.

“I don’t know what will happen in the next two, four, ten years. Or where I'll be. But I know that I want you to be there, by my side.”

“I’m never going anywhere.”

11:50 PM.

Mina hears Nayeon’s heartbeat got louder and her breathing got a little faster. Just like how she knows that the girl’s about to get anxious again, she also knows how to calm her down.

“Baby,” Mina placed a hand over Nayeon’s heart. “Calm this down.”

Hearing the Japanese girl call her that again makes Nayeon want to cry even more, she might actually explode.

"You already know how hard it’s going to be, right?" Mina pulls back, looks up to cup Nayeon’s face and uses her thumbs to wipe the tears that had formed at the corner of the Korean’s beautiful, brown eyes. "We already had like, a test run and failed. Let’s ace it this time, okay?”

Nayeon nods enthusiastically.

"I’m going to do my best to not blow it." She lovingly caressed Mina's soft cheeks. “Every moment, from now until forever." 

Words cannot ever describe the overflowing love inside the room as Nayeon leans down to capture Mina’s lips. This is it. This is the moment they've both longed for. Months of being away from each other had taken its toll but it did prove one thing – they're a perfect fit.

They were made for each other. 

The future is full of uncertainties and nothing will ever come easy. But after everything they've been through in past few months, they can say that they’re both prepared to face the obstacles that will come their way. Either it'd be from the media, the fans or certain circumstances, Nayeon and Mina would be ready as long as they have each other.

They know they still need to have a long conversation about all the things they got wrong the first time around and to compromise when it’s necessary, however that talk would have to wait until tomorrow.

Tonight is all about coming back home to each other, promises of never letting go, and sealing their reunion with a kiss as the clock strikes twelve.

**_FIN_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MINAYEON DESERVES A HAPPY ENDING!  
> I hope you enjoyed this update cause I totally love it.  
> Minayeon wins.  
> Saida also wins.  
> Momo still wins.  
> Jeongjichaeyu wins.  
> Everybody wins!
> 
> This took a while to be posted cause I keep on watching the clips I got from the online concert. Anyone else who's excited for the VOD to be available? I also just found out that Haejun oppa left and that was really sad :( He's been with Twice since LOA. And tbh I kind of thought of him when I wrote Taesung oppa minus the bad part of course :( And finally Notting Hill was on TV again when I fell asleep before posting this update. Hehe.
> 
> So, this is kind of bittersweet but Im pretty sure all of you can tell that Cinderella is coming to an end.  
> I want to take this opportunity, again, to thank everyone who's been following Cinderella.  
> I love this au so much and I really appreciate everyone's reactions/comments.  
> Thank you so much for taking some time off your day to join me in this Minayeon journey.  
> I offer you a few slices of pizza *no pineapple* 🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕


	24. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE!  
> HAPPY NAYEON'S MONTH!!

_Three Years After Graduation._

Nayeon walks out of the terminal, pulling her large luggage. She looks at the café kiosk ahead as she gets in line to buy shots of espresso for the very sleepy Japanese girl that’s following her closely. She was impressed to see _Peaches’ Café_ stationed inside Incheon Airport and that only meant that she’s been gone for too long. Too bad Momo’s back in Japan, she wouldn’t be able to personally congratulate her.

She spent six months in LA working on a new project, closing a very important deal, doing all things an Im is supposed to do at _IM Interiors LLC_ and that was the longest she’s been away from Seoul since she graduated.

 _Ah! Graduation!_ The day that almost didn’t happen for Nayeon.

It went like this: Mina had to leave South Korea on the exact day that Nayeon was scheduled to receive her diploma. Since they wanted to celebrate this momentous life event together, they decided to have a pre-graduation party. They wanted to be spontaneous and they thought it would be exciting. So they went to Okinawa and then almost missed their flight back to Seoul.

That was the last time they ever tried to pre-celebrate anything. Better late than never became their new mantra.

Nayeon didn’t immediately move back to LA after graduation. She asked her brother to give her a few months of preparation before taking over their company’s Creative Department. A few months turned into a year as she and Mina work on their new set up.

Their relationship wasn’t easy and they expected it. Even when Mina’s (public) dating ban got lifted, they agreed not come out in the open – it’s nobody’s business but theirs anyway. They kept their relationship on the low especially when many ONCE became more curious about the person behind the username @IMNY – Nayeon still leaves comments on Mina’s posts from time to time, you know, just to tease the fandom.

Midnight strolls, playing hide and seek at aquariums and dates at hidden restaurants became less occurring as Mina’s career began to really take off after Konnect Ent. bought shares of JYP Ent. And when the KPop girl group scored their first Asian Tour, Nayeon decided it’s time to face her responsibilities.

She makes sure to come to Seoul every two to three months – especially when there are important occasions – stays for about a week, then goes back to LA. Repeat. She’s also kept her apartment and Dahyun, who stayed in Seoul, takes care of it.

As for Sana, well, Sana’s sitting on her luggage, a cup of cappuccino with two espresso shots in hand, careful not to drop the hot drink on herself.

“Thank god for your VIP connections and for getting us that ride. I was planning on rolling myself off the plane cause my legs just don’t want to cooperate today. They’re still sleeping and I still need to drive.”

“Yeah.” _That passenger cart was such a relief_. “I can drive to the arena, you know.” She loosens the soft green scarf that’s wrapped around her neck.

“No, I’ll drive. I just need to wake these skinny legs up.” Sana stands up and starts to pace. “At least we’re here now, right?”

“I know.” Nayeon joins her bestfriend. “Do you think Mina will really kill me if I didn’t make this trip? You would’ve been burying a bestfriend instead of enjoying a music show.”

“We could both be burying each other. Mom would definitely kill me if I didn’t come home this year and Mina made me promise to get you here in one piece.” Sana carefully blows at her hot espresso. “Your girl’s scary when she’s angry.”

“Oooooh I love it when she’s angry. She bites.” Nayeon grins devilishly.

“Eww! No. Stop. I don’t want to hear any TMIs from you. It’s too early.”

“What? You used to love watching us make out, remember? LA sucked out all the fun in you.”

“You sucked out all the fun in me.” Sana smacks Nayeon’s thigh, immediately wiping the grin that was on the Korean’s face.

Nayeon studies Sana’s face. Sure, she looks extremely sleepy but Nayeon can also see stress and worry written all over her face.

“Sana-chan. Hey. You okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah. I’m okay.” Sana exhaled heavily. “I’m just tired. You know we literally just got out of that meeting before flying here. I just need a nap or something.”

It was exactly fifteen months ago since the last time Sana was home. The Japanese immediately grabbed the internship at IM Interiors and the month after graduation, she was already in LA.

“You sure this has nothing to do with –“ Nayeon knows to be careful with the topic.

“No! No. Of course, not. What are you talking about?”

“Cause, you know…” Nayeon shrugs. “We’re going to see her later.”

“It’s been over a year. Not everything is about her. And shouldn’t you be more focused on your plan instead?” Yes, Sana’s avoiding the topic.

And Nayeon knows it. “Yeah, okay.” She walks closer to her sleepy Japanese bestfriend and pokes her nose. “Hey, love you.”

“Love you too, Nabong.”

***

_Soribada Awards_ started just a few years back but it’s already considered as one of the most popular and most awaited music awards show in South Korea. All of KPop’s biggest names are scheduled for breath-taking stage performances and fans have been lining up outside the venue since sunrise.

Dahyun had continued working for the same production company after she graduated and is now the head of the Lights & Sounds Crew. She just finished the tech rehearsal for the last performers of the show when she finally received the message she was waiting for.

“So, that’s why you’re late.” Dahyun nods at the large bouquet of red tulips Nayeon’s carrying. She was supposed to meet her bestfriends thirty minutes ago to hand them the backstage passes for the event. “Still paying for that time you gave every girl a rose, every girl but her, huh?”

(Mina still pouts about that from time to time and Nayeon doesn’t mind. The miles between them had never been a hindrance whenever she feels like showering Mina with gifts – which happens very often and Dahyun can attest to that.)

“Yeah. Everything’s set up, right? You didn’t tell her anything?” Nayeon asks, checking out her bestfriend’s new hair color. “You look good in purple. I like it.”

“Thanks.” Dahyun adjusts the glass frame on her nose. “And no, I’ve been so busy with some idols wanting to do last minute changes. I didn’t have time to talk to them. I just waved at them from the booth when they were doing their tech run. I’m not even sure if they saw me.”

“They may have seen you. It’s too hard to miss you with that purple hair.” She teased as she struggles between carrying the large bouquet and playing with Dahyun’s hair.

She wasn’t kidding though. Dahyun’s a fucking head turner. She didn’t know when it happened but Dahyun went from being the cutest little nerd from the College of Arts to being the hottest new head of the technical crew at their company. Maybe it started on that day when –

“Here we are.” Dahyun stops in front of a door with 트와이스 written on the nameplate and motions for her to go in. “Your passes give you access to the artist’s rec areas too. Just like last time.”

“Works for me.” Nayeon smiles at the younger Korean then sighs. She can see that Dahyun keeps on glancing behind her back. She’s obviously looking for the Japanese girl that completes the _Trio_. “She’ll be here in a few. She’s just looking for the best spot. You know how she doesn’t like to double park.”

“Hmm.” Dahyun bites her lower lip and nods. She proceeds to knock on the door since Nayeon’s clearly busy rearranging the bouquet, hoping that the Korean interior designer would stop talking.

The door opens and they were met by sounds of giggling and screaming. As usual, Jeongyeon’s playing a prank on Chaeyoung and the other girls are just letting her – they’re having the young rapper guess each member’s name by touching their body parts and eldest decided to use her foot. Even their staff and managers had joined in the fun.

The screams got even louder when Jihyo noticed Nayeon by the door and nudged her members to also look.

 _Eh?!_ Mina jumped off her seat upon seeing her girlfriend. To say she’s surprised is an understatement. She would’ve ran up to her too if she wasn’t barefoot – Jeongyeon stole her penguin slippers.

 _Oh fuck me._ Nayeon feels like she’s going to explode! Blush spreading from her face down to her neck. Her mouth slowly drops open as her eyes get wider. She knew Mina was going to get a shorter hairstyle for their upcoming comeback but oh fucking fuck she didn’t expect it to look _so fucking good._

“So, this is where I leave you.” Dahyun whispered, quietly laughing at her bestfriend ogling Mina.

Nayeon snaps out of her hot and steamy thoughts of Mina and her insanely gorgeous new look that shows off her slender neck and sexy shoulders. _How long is this show going to run?_

“Dahyun unnie!” Chaeyoung called out. “The lights were awesome.”

“Unnie!” Tzuyu giving Dahyun two thumbs up.

The other girls agreed with Chaeyoung. Dahyun’s really good at her job and she’s slowly making a name for herself in the world concert and special award show stages that a lot of TV producers are asking for her to do the live variety shows too. A success she would’ve enjoyed more if she wasn’t alone.

Dahyun blushed at the compliments. She bows to her ultimate favorite KPop girl group and turns around to leave.

“Hey, Dubu! Dinner tonight.” Nayeon reminded the purple hair girl. “Her parents want us there. Don’t forget.”

“I won’t.”

***

“This is a surprise.” Mina approached Nayeon once the door was closed – and her penguin slippers were returned. “I thought you were already sleeping cause you weren’t replying to my messages.”

“You miss my memes already?” Nayeon teased, the large bouquet on her right arm hiding them from the others’ view as she reaches to hold the back of Mina’s neck with her free hand. _Is she really real?_

Six long months. It was torture and it has definitely taken its toll on both girls. Though, they each have work that keeps them preoccupied most of the times, at the end of the day when they’re lying on their bed, alone, they’d always be wishing to be _physically_ together.

Facetime, text messages and occasional online comments are temporary relief for their longing hearts. They were literally on the opposite sides of the world and the sixteen hour time difference was extremely frustrating. 

Mina wraps her arms around Nayeon’s waist pulling her closer, affectionately rubbing her nose on Nayeon’s. She missed this warmth that radiates off the Korean’s body, her coffee breath with hints of minty vanilla ( _how many cups of coffee did this girl drink?)_ and Nayeon’s heart loudly beating off her chest ( _I guess she really liked my new look_ ).

It’s still fascinating how they easily get lost in each other presence like they’re in their own little world.

“Yah! Lovebirds!” Jihyo shouts. “We’re all still here!”

“We can see you through all that flowers!” Jeongyeon joins the teasing.

Mina rolls her eyes before stealing a quick kiss from Nayeon, careful not to smudge her lipstick their make-up artist spent an half an hour blending to get the perfect shade that matches her black outfit. She grabs the bouquet of tulips from Nayeon and pulls her into the room while the other girls found another member to tease.

Nayeon looks around and sees people that she’d become familiar with;

1.) _The entourage_. Managers, hair and make-up artists, stylists and their bodyguards. Everyone knew about Nayeon but the HMU and stylists were still instructed to sign NDAs. Whatever happens in the waiting room, stays in the waiting room. Not that the girls were worried about any of them talking – they’ve been with them since their debut showcase – but after what happened to that one manager, the company made it a requirement for every event their artists would need these types of professional services.

2.) _Dr. and Mrs. Myoi_. She approached her girlfriend’s parents to give them a respectful bow before joining them at the table. 

_Fuck. I need to focus. They already know how much you love their princess. Chill the fuck out, Nayeon._

***

The show finally started. It’s going to be three hours of sitting through tens of performances and award acceptance speeches but the girls had gotten used to it. They were given breaks in between anyway especially when they need to change their outfits for their special stage.

Mina looks at the VIP area where she can see the three most important people in her life, seated together. It gives her a great sense of satisfaction watching the way Nayeon interacts with her parents – the girl’s throwing her hands in the air, animatedly describing what looks like her flight experience to the older Myois.

It’s one thing to know that her close friends like Nayeon but it’s a different kind of confirmation to know that her parents adore her girlfriend. Even her father jokes around with Nayeon when he rarely does it with her.

 _And they all arrived the on the same day._

Mina frowns, extremely curious if there’s another reason why they’re here aside from Soribada. Her parents don’t normally fly out to watch an award show and Nayeon’s supposed to arrive two days after Soribada, just in time for Sana’s birthday.

“Mina-ya?”

“Hmm?” Mina blinks a few times before facing Jihyo.

“You okay? You’re spacing out again.” Jihyo asks while playing with the massage sticks they were handed.

“I’m just thinking.”

“You mean you’re obsessing about the real reason why your folks and Nayeon arrived on the same day.”

“I’m not obsessing about it. I’m just thinking… intensely.” Okay, maybe she is obsessing. “I mean, you know my parents, right? They don’t just go anywhere without months of planning. And Nayeon never really comes earlier than the actual date that she tells me.”

“Well, we have SoBa. Maybe it’s because of that.”

“When did my parents ever come to an award show _voluntarily_?”

By the looks on Jihyo’s face it seems like the group leader had already connected the dots and she’s pretty sure Mina’s close to figuring it out too. “Aw, Mina-ya.”

So, her parents are here. Nayeon’s here. And they haven’t stopped talking since the Korean arrived. And she swears she heard her father said blessings in Korean. In Korean. Her parents rarely speak Korean. 

_Oh? Oh_. The realization dawns on Mina the same time their group name was called to receive their first award of the night.

_Best Female Group._

_Song of the Year._

_Artist of the Year._

***

Last time she went to an awards show, Nayeon took home six plushie toys she’d won with the help of Jeongyeon and Tzuyu – Jeongyeon manipulated the claw machines. She wonders how many toys she’d be able to take home tonight now that Tzuyu had left her alone. 

She was trying to catch another Pikachu plushie when a group passed by. The boys of GOT7 saw her and they all give her a bow which Nayeon returned as courtesy.

She’s not really friends with the boys or any other artists from Mina’s entertainment agency. She hasn’t forgotten what had happened between her and Mina and Ba– _Okay, let’s not go there._ It’s been years and it doesn’t bother her anymore, but that doesn’t mean she’s ready to be all friendly with the boy.

 _Okay._ She’s had enough of these claw machines and decides to go back to the waiting room. The girls should be done packing their things up and should be ready to leave. That means Nayeon can finally have Mina all to herself. Well, after dinner with the Minatozakis.

She turns the corner and bumps into another girl who was on her phone texting.

“Uhmpf.” Nayeon drops two of the three toys she’s already won.

“Oh, sorry. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t looking.” The girl bends down to help Nayeon pick up the Pikachu and Squirtle plushies. “I should really stop texting and walking.”

“No, no it’s totally me.” Nayeon bows while accepting the toys the girl’s handing to her. “Sorry.”

“Sorry again.” The girl smiles and bows before walking past Nayeon.

Nayeon smiles at the girl with long black hair and bangs. She noticed the modernized hanbok the girl is wearing but the pattern on her skirt was not a traditional Korean design – _Hmm, this girl’s probably an idol too_. Well, what did she expect? She’s in a music award show.

***

Nayeon and Mina were able excuse themselves from Dr. and Mrs. Myoi to have a late dinner with the Minatozakis – it’s been a tradition everytime Nayeon comes back. They did promise to have breakfast with Mina’s parents the next morning though.

Nayeon had given in and applied for an international driving permit and when she’s back in Seoul, she’d borrow Sana’s car that was just collecting dust in their garage. Tonight was not an exemption especially since she knows how much Mina loves it when she drives. ( _You look so hot driving with one hand on the steering wheel_ ) Yeah, Mina really loves it when she _drives_.

“Well, that was an awkward dinner.” Nayeon said as soon as she closed the car door.

“What do you mean?” Mina was still waving at the restaurant owners who walked them out to the car. “At least they’re talking to each other. They’re…” Adjusting her seatbelt, searching for the right word to describe the way Sana and Dahyun acted throughout dinner. “Civil?”

“Too civil.” Nayeon pointed out. “I know those two dorks. This the first time they’re in the same room in over a year after… you know…“ She slowly pulls out of the driveway. “I just –”

“You worry about them. I know.” Mina finished the sentence, reached over to gently massage Nayeon’s nape. She’d be lying if she said that she’s not worried about Sana and Dahyun. She’s grown so fond of those dorks.

“Anywaaay, world tour prep starts next month, right?”

“Yes. And I’m excited. LA’s finally added to the cities we’re going.” Mina starts playing with Nayeon’s ear. “You wouldn’t have to travel to Newark like what happened last time for KCON.”

“I don’t mind travelling anywhere as long as you’re going to be there.” Nayeon takes Mina’s hand that’s on her ear and brings it to her lips, kissing it softly.

This is one of Mina’s favorite things about her Korean love – how her hand fits perfectly in Nayeon’s, the way her girlfriend‘s thumb traces circles on the back of her palm. Nayeon makes her feel all tingly inside even with just small gestures like these.

“Don’t you wish we wouldn’t have to deal with this long distance thing?”

“Do you?”

“Sometimes.” Mina admits. “I mean, when my schedule’s crazy hectic somehow, I’m glad you’re not here cause then I wouldn’t feel guilty not having much time for you.”

She remembers Nayeon’s senior year when most of their times were spent sneaking in to the Korean’s apartment, cuddling until sunlight when neither of them had to leave early for work or college.

“But then, I also miss our impromptu strolls in the middle of the night. There’d be a new place I’d find online and would like to visit but I don’t want to go alone. You know?” 

“I know.” Nayeon sulks. _I don’t like this long distance thing too_.

A comfortable silence falls between them.

“Hey, I kind of have a surprise for you.” Mina withdrew her hand from Nayeon’s grasp and reached for her purse in the backseat. “I was saving it for your actual birthday but I just can’t wait.”

“What is it?”

“Okay. I know you might need to check your calendar first but I also know you’d drop everything for me, so...“

“That’s very conceited of you.”

“Is it not true?” The Japanese raised an eyebrow, challenging Nayeon.

“It’s true. It’s 100% the truth.” She surrenders. Mina’s right and it happened so many times already.

“Right. So, I planned this.” Mina hands Nayeon travel brochure as the Korean stops on a red light.

“Greenland?! Oh my god!” She can’t believe Mina remembered. They haven’t really talked about her dream vacation in a very long time.

“I got six days off for your birthday. That should be enough.” She feels proud of herself as she watches her favorite toothy smile appear on Nayeon’s face. “You still want to go, right?” 

“And have alcoholic coffee for breakfast? Fuck yeah!” She laughs at Mina rolling her eyes at her. “Aw, come here.” Pulling Mina in for a kiss. “Thank you.” And another kiss. There would’ve been a third and even a fourth kiss if the car behind them didn’t start honking – Nayeon didn’t see the traffic light turning green.

“Now, you ready for your surprise?”

_Oh, here it comes._

***

“Is Momo expanding Peaches’?”

“No. Why’d you ask?” Nayeon flicks the lights switch on as soon as she pushed the back door open while struggling not to drop the keys. _For fuck’s sake, stop shaking. Come on._

“Well, we’re in an empty warehouse, in the middle of the city, near the commercial districts and residential villages. Perfect place to start a business.”

“You’re a business major now? You need to stop talking to Sana when she’s bored.” Nayeon chuckles, holding her hand out, wiggling her fingers for Mina to take it. “But the answer is no. This is not for Peaches’ new branch.”

She pulls Mina to one of the nearest pillars inside of the warehouse and points to the piece of paper that’s glued on it. 

Mina steps closer to read what was on the paper. It shows a drawing of an arrow pointing to the left with the words _TURN IT ON_ – pointing to the light switch beside it. 

“Eh?”

She looks at Nayeon suspiciously before flicking the switch. There was a faint sound of buzzing before the all the other pillars starts to light up.

“Oh… my…” Mina was stunned.

Bright string lights were wrapped around every pillar from the ceiling down to the floor like huge Christmas trees. She looks back at Nayeon who’s giving her a toothy grin, gesturing for her to go to the pillar on her left. And so she did.

Adjusting her eyes to the brightness of the little light bulbs, Mina noticed another paper glued on it. She squints so she can read.

_Notice... Construction Permit... Okay. Construction has been approved... It starts a week after my baby’s birthday. Business name.... Oh my god!_

_IM Interiors, LLC_

“Are you serious?!”

“Dead serious.”

Nayeon loves this look on Mina’s face. It’s very rare that she gets to surprise her Japanese goddess – it’s always been the other way around with them – but when she does she makes sure to go over the top.

“Since we’ve already established a clientele here in Asia, it just makes sense to put up branch here too. Sana will be managing the operations, I will be head of designs. I don’t want to deal with this long distance thing anymore. I don’t want to be away from you anymore.”

And this is when Nayeon’s stomach begins to twist with nervousness. She slips a hand in her coat pocket, making sure that what she’s prepared for is securely tied on her right hand’s ring finger. _This is it. Don’t mess it up._

She wants this. She craves for this – for Mina. She’s planned this moment for months and now… now, she’s ready. She swears she can hear her blood rush through her veins. And whatever gets your blood racing is worth doing right?

_Right! Mina’s totally worth it._

Mina’s curiosity and anxiety are through the roof now. Thank god she had years of practice and had perfected the art of ~~looking~~ staying calm in nerve-racking situations. She just waits for Nayeon to speak again – because the girl had obviously prepared something. 

“I believe that people are born with two main purposes. One. To live their lives doing things that their destined to do. You know, things that makes them happy beyond their wildest dreams. And two,” Nayeon reaches for Mina’s left hand. “To have someone to share that happiness with.” She gently begins to tie a red yarn on the Japanese’s ring finger. “And I know I’ve accomplished my purpose when I met you.”

Mina brings her free hand to cover her mouth as she watch Nayeon tie the yarn around her finger. “Are-Are you… are you proposing? To me?”

“No.” Nayeon answers instantly. Then seeing the confused look on Mina’s face she continues. “I mean, yes, I will. But not tonight.”

“Eh?” Now Mina’s really lost.

Nayeon exhales deeply, releasing all the nerves from her little body. She carefully brings Mina’s hand to her lips.

“Minari, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don’t want to live without you and I’m pretty sure you can’t live without my memes. And because of that,” She pulls the yarn up with her right hand effectively lifting Mina’s left hand and viola! A ring slides through the yarn from her palm straight down into Mina’s finger. “I’d like to give you this promise ring.”

It’s like magic.

It’s as if time had slowed down and Mina watched in awe as the sparkling ring makes its way to her finger.

“You make me the happiest girl in the world and I promise to always support you and be your number one stan and let you go wherever your career takes you.” Voice shaking while she properly sets the platinum ring on Mina’s finger. “I promise to always make sure you have milk for you cereal, to have more pillows for you kick off the bed, to find all your missing socks, to fight the urge to be a walkout queen, though sometimes you really just have to let me.”

Mina chuckles, wiping the tears formed at the corner of the Korean’s eyes. She can tell that the girl was nervous and it probably took Nayeon months of thinking and processing for this moment to happen. This is not what she expected but it’s far too much for her heart to handle.

“I love you with every part of me.” Nayeon cups Mina’s face, looking directly to her enchanting eyes. “And I promise a much more romantic, over the top proposal when you’re ready to get yourself tied to me. Forever.”

“Baby, I’m already tied to you. Literally.” Mina wiggles her finger – her promise ring, glowing. It’s beautiful. She takes Nayeon’s hand and kisses her palm, catching a glimpse of the latest addition to her wrist tattoo – a jellyfish. Something that holds a deep meaning to both of them, to their relationship. “I love you. You are the love of my life and I’m so happy you’re mine.”

Mina mirrors Nayeon and cups the Korean’s face. Her fiery brown eyes, cute little button nose, soft cheeks, plump cherry lips. Everything about this girl still drives her crazy. She leans in to meet Korean’s lips in a searing kiss.

Four years together and yet this kiss feels different – like it’s their first. It feels like they’ve finally reached the pinnacle of happiness. Love. Contentment. Peace of mind.

Like their love was already written in the stars – that even after all the sneaking outs, the memes, the secret getaways and the heartbreaks, they would always to find their way back to each other.

Mina slowly pulls away from kiss, keeping her face close to Nayeon’s. “I love you until the day I leave this earth.” She whispered. “Now, what do we do with your bestfriends?”

Nayeon stretched her neck back to see Mina grinning. “You’re thinking about them while kissing me?! And to think I just gave you a promise ring.”

“Like you don’t love them more than you love me?” Mina jokes.

“That’s not true. I love you more.” She kisses Mina’s cheeks and mumbles. “Like 9% more.“

Mina laughs. She just loves how they can be very serious in one moment, and then start joking around the next. “l know you want them to have this same kind of happily ever after.“

“I do.” She kissed the mole on Mina’s forehead. “Maybe one of them should lose a sock too.” Then moved to plant tiny kisses on Mina’s neck. “Or a leg?” Nayeon pulls back to look at her girlfriend with the aegyo she’s mastered through the years. “Can we not talk about them when we’re making out?”

“Are we making out here? Or are you taking me –“

“You know I’ll take you.”

“– home now?”

Nayeon lets out a sexy growl and wiggles her eyebrows, earning a slap in the butt from a blushing Mina. 

They start walking out. With their hands intertwined, red yarn still tied around their ring fingers, Nayeon feels the cold platinum promise ring on Mina’s finger and it warms her heart.

“Did you ever think we’d get this far?” Nayeon asked as she goes to shut the warehouse’s main switch off. “From that pub’s exit door. Me asking if you want to get another drink. To me asking for your parents’ blessing.”

“Well, I knew I wanted to keep you in life for a very long time.” Mina’s beaming with so much joy. “I just knew you’re going to mean so much to me.” It was that moment when Nayeon first complimented her that Mina knew.

“So, are you ready for more adventures with me, my Cinderella?”

“I am, my charming meme girl.”

**...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HOPE YOU LIKED THE SURPRISE :)  
> I've already thought of this epiloque the same day that the last chapter was posted cause I felt like we didn't get much fluff in the last chapter and I wanted to make sure we get fluffy Minayeon back.  
> It's still unbeta-ed. So what do you think?  
> Also, I used another julia roberts film as reference for one of the scenes here cause it was just too damn adorable.
> 
> I miss this story so much.  
> Is it bad that I love my own fic more than any other fic out there? (no pineapple on pizza is an exemption)  
> LOLS.  
> THANK YOU FOR COMING TO READ THIS UPDATE!  
> THANK YOU.

**Author's Note:**

> Scream at me over at twitter: @Lila11Lila_  
> And I'm just going to put this in here if you ever feel like buying me a kofi 😚 https://ko-fi.com/lila11


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